This year’s We The People students participated at States in East Lansing on Jan.12. Unfortunately, they placed third, falling short of second place Ann Arbor Pioneer at States by only 18 points and first place East Kentwood by 20 points.
We The People, otherwise known as “Weeple,” is a government-based class that students can take at the high school. It’s a first-semester class where students learn about all the parts of the government, ranging from the philosophy of the U.S. government to what fears the government faces today. After learning about government, students get divided into units where they research about one of the units they learned about in the class and demonstrate their knowledge in competition, where students get asked questions about their unit.
A lot of the students really enjoy the class, and this past season was a great depiction of that.
“Weeple is a great opportunity for team building,” Maxwell Michell ‘26 said.
Even though Weeple did not end how many would have liked, the students who participated learned a lot from the experience and are accepting of the outcome.
“We all worked extremely hard, everyone learned a lot, especially from where we started. We have all grown and we are very accomplished,” Anna Stolle ‘26 said.
The class has provided students with critical thinking skills, improvisation, and government appliances that no other class at the high school offers.
“It sets a standard for college as a lot of the topics we were learning, especially at state, is college level of understanding,” Mitchell said.
We The People is a great opportunity but it requires a lot of time from students. The time commitment is a fear for many individuals who are uneasy about joining the group. Along with the class that takes place during seventh hour, there are numerous practices outside of school, and the preparation for state, which takes almost all of winter break.
“The time commitment for me, even though it was a lot, was ultimately worth it,” Addi Sorota ‘25 said.
The program transforms an individual’s view on government and the way the country works. Even if you are not the biggest fan of government, with the Weeple program, people have really developed into becoming passionate about what they are doing and grown to love it.
“Originally I was scared of the time commitment of the class because I was not really into government, but after taking the class I learned to enjoy government and now the time commitment isn’t even recognizable because I enjoy what I am doing,” Stolle said.
With the time commitment, the members have to spend a lot of time with their peers within the unit that they were placed in. Weeple in this sense is a great way to build connections with other people in your school and is a great team bonding experience.
“I am very close with my unit, even though we have had ups and downs we are all close and good friends,” Stolle said.
Similarly, Charlie Ferguson of Unit 2 painted their relationship.
“In Unit 2 we like to get down and focus and we have all become close over the season,” Charlie Ferguson ‘25 said.
Along with the team bonding experiences and the academic growth that takes place during Weeple, this past year has created lifelong experiences that students participating will always remember.
“At states, going up in front of the judges and being all official was an experience that was special, I will remember that moment from Weeple,” Sorota said.
The We The People program instills social skills and knowledge that in the future will be used at the college level and in life past just education.
“We are the next generation and being involved in Weeple and learning about government and what is going on in the world is going to build society to be better for years to come,” Stolle said.
