Jude Magnotti ’26
EE Editor-in-Chief
With the impending prospect of the state tournament looming over Trumbull’s We The People team, Ms. Katie Boland and her team of six units are vigorously preparing for the upcoming season. These preparations only intensified during the We The People team’s first “Night With The Experts” on Tuesday, November 25th.
Teachers, students, and former BICEN Alumni gathered together to give Units their first official judging of the year. Each unit went through a marathon of all three of their questions twice, with just a ten-minute break in between.
Judges heard opening statements, then conducted thorough follow-ups in which the students were tasked to spontaneously respond based on their previous knowledge and no outside help. These Nights With The Experts, which are conducted multiple times a year, are designed to simulate the real pressure and experience of competition without the stakes of a state championship on the line.
Students conduct similar activities called “Firing Squads” in class; however, these judges, composed of peers, lack the same pressure as a panel of experts. Simply put, BICEN team members require extraordinary civics content knowledge, extensive research and collaboration skills, and most importantly, resilience under pressure. Very few teams put your knowledge on the spot the way that We The People does.
If you know your stuff and answer confidently, you can wow the judges and earn valuable points for your team. However, if you choke up for even a second, not being able to answer a question from a judge can be one of the most terrifying experiences one can go through.
During Night With The Experts, countless students met this pitfall and triumphed over and over as they went from room to room. Each room, composed of different experts, had its own unique questions to ask. Certain rooms felt different in terms of tension, experience, and overall atmosphere as students delivered their presentations for each one.
“We had to adapt based on who was asking the questions and what the atmosphere of the room felt like,” Unit 3 member Sean Galla said.
These tensions only added stress to the situation. However, as students went on and got more into a rhythm, many reported feeling more at ease for the second half.
Unit 6 member Alec Valera stated, “I was very stressed the first half but the second half I was locked in”.
At the end of the night, Unit 4 ended with the highest score at over 68% followed by Units 2, 3, 1, 6, and 5 following respectively. Whether they placed first or last, each unit member gained valuable practice and insight into what their world will be for the next two months. With We The People States on January 24th, Night With The Experts is the first of many challenges placed in the team’s path to prepare them for the trials ahead, and hopefully, bring home championship number 30 for Trumbull High’s We The People legacy…