As Election Day nears, Brophy administration both expects and desires political discourse to increase on campus. That said, certain faculty members worry students have a misguided sense of what being political actually means.

“Politics is where laws are formed, offices are held, and decisions are made,” said Brophy Principal Mr. Jim Bopp. “We want our students and everybody else who’s involved with us to be actively political and engaged in politics.” 

Director of Student Activities Mr. Pete Burr ’07 also holds this belief, saying that as a Jesuit institution, Brophy must be inherently political. 

“Jesus was political,” Mr. Burr said. ““I don’t think we can be good Catholics without being [involved] in the political process.”

However, certain members of the Brophy community are expected to refrain from sharing their perspectives. Before the school year started, Mr. Bopp told faculty and staff that student’s shouldn’t be aware of an adult’s political biases. He does not want to silence teachers to discourage political discourse; rather, he wants students to feel comfortable sharing their opinions openly in class. Mr. Bopp believes that students may feel disinclined to share if they know their teachers hold contrasting views.

To ensure students are politically engaged, Brophy is hosting a Day of Democracy on Election Day. On Nov. 5, classes will be suspended and there will be a variety of keynote speakers, workshops, and activities. 

One of Mr. Bopp’s primary goals during Day of Democracy is for students to recognize that the presidential election is only one facet of American democracy. More specifically, he hopes students don’t lose faith in the system if their preferred presidential candidate loses the election. 

“Both parties are going to have some wins and both parties are going to have some losses,” said Mr. Bopp. “Don’t over-identify the American political system and its merits and its virtues with one single office, and who happens to hold that office. That’s a simplified and dangerously inflated sense of what an election is about and what a democracy is about.”

Mr. Burr hopes Day of Democracy inspires students to find greater interest in local and state politics. 

“Whoever ends up reading this,” said Mr. Pete Burr ’07, “could look to their left and ask their peer, ‘What Congressional District are you in?’ And there’s a very good chance they’re not going to know the answer.”

“We need to engage the political season the same way we do everything else here at Brophy,” Mr. Bopp said. “With an open mind, but still an intellectually critical perspective and a willingness to be open to dialogue about it.”

“There’s partisan and there’s political,” Mr. Bopp said. “ We want everybody who is here to be politically engaged.” 

Mr. Bopp believes that humans, especially adolescent males, tend to be overly tribal. He does not want students to disengage from political discussion wit

“I don’t think there is really a way to be too political,” Mr. Bopp said. “Being political is not the problem. Being overly partisan is the problem.” 

“November’s election shouldn’t be treated any differently than we treat so many other topics around here,” said Mr. Bopp. 

“We need to engage the political season the same way we do everything else here at Brophy,” said Mr. Bopp. “With an open mind, but still an intellectually critical perspective and a willingness to be open to dialogue about it.”

“I am generally very happy with the way the guys dialogue with one another around here,” said Mr. Bopp.  

“Just because a narrative might seem to dominate an airwave, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that is the most popular or common or typical perspective,” said Mr. Bopp. 

“Democracy is an act,” said Mr. Bopp. “It’s not a noun, it’s a verb.”

Bopp described voting as “the bare minimum of what we need to do politically.” 

Calls Brophy students to consider running for office: “One way for me to be a servant leader, in the formula that I was, you know, that I experienced at Brophy, is to run and hold a political office, you know; and and lead with the same values that I gained here”

“Both parties are going to have some wins and both parties are going to have some losses,” said Mr. Bopp. “Don’t over-identify the American political system and its merits and its virtues with one single office, and who happens to hold that office. That’s a simplified and dangerously inflated sense of what an election is about and what a democracy is about.”

“You [shouldn’t] lose hope in a democratic system because there’s always the next cycle,” said Mr. Bopp.