Journalist Jane Coaston Talks Politics and Policy During Visit To Athenian

“Politics is life. Politics is not your life.” 

These were the words that greeted students as they gathered in Kate & Dyke Brown Hall to hear from guest speaker Jane Coaston, an opinion writer for The New York Times, former senior politics reporter at Vox, and former host of the popular podcast, “The Argument.” Coaston was on campus to talk politics and policy with the entire Athenian community, including both upper and middle school, as well as parents and guardians, as part of the Community Education Series. She discussed the upcoming election, the importance of civil discourse, and her experiences covering politics and policy as a journalist.

From the very beginning of her talks, Coaston emphasized the importance of policy over politics. She explained the difference, saying “Policy is why the school is where it is here, why the road is where it is here, why there are stop signs and bike lanes and parking lots and restaurants and walls and doors and exit signs that are lit up because that is a policy decision. Policy really matters to me. Politics is like the horse race and [...] that is less important to me. It's how you get here, but it's not the end point.”

Both upper and middle school students had the opportunity to ask a variety of questions about the upcoming presidential election, the Electoral College, the state of the nation, freedom of speech in schools, and navigating social media in politics.

Middle School Head Justin Guerra said, “I felt like her energy was really suited to the middle schoolers. She kept it light, kept it fun. Where she really shined was in her response to the questions from the kids. I think the one question that really stood out for me was, ‘How do you manage home when your parents either have a different opinion than you or if your parents have a different opinion from each other.’”

On the topic of social media, which many of Athenian’s students use, whether it’s YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, Coaston said, “It's really important to remember that social media is not a vector, it's not a window, especially because we've seen how algorithms can be used because they want to ratchet up interactions. And the best way to ratchet up interactions on social media is to make people mad. I think that it's really important to recognize that.”

Finding reliable sources is not easy, especially with people spreading false information. Based on her own experience, Coaston said, “Something that's useful to me is getting not just a lot of news sources, but also a lot of sources of opinion, getting an idea of what the other side is saying, not to agree with it or something, and not to use it as rage bait. You don't need that. But just to understand, hey, some people are seeing this differently, here's how they're talking about it.”

Reflecting on her visit, Coaston said, “I absolutely loved it. The only thing that surprised me was the kindness of the students and faculty. What an amazing environment. Nothing -- and I mean nothing -- matters more to me than making sure kids feel heard and supported and listened to. Anything I can do that makes folks younger than I am feel involved and encouraged, I will do.”

Upper School humanities teacher Stephanie McGraw, who helped organize the event, echoed Coaston’s thoughts about what is important for students right now. “Our elections have become so contentious that it's important that kids have an opportunity to keep processing what's going on in the world,” she said.

Coaston reinforced this message and asked students to “Give people space and grace and recognize that what you have in common is bigger than what makes you different.” Junior Aryanna Ma, who was a moderator at the evening discussion, agreed with Coaston, and added “I think we need to do better in figuring out an environment where we can be more open minded and less like, ‘I need to say my part and you can't change my mind,’ but more so just listening to each other.”

“We label things as good or bad or evil or just, I think the world is very gray and complex and when we get so tied to one side being good or right or wrong, then we lose the ability to have civil discourse. … That's why I want kids to be nice and empathetic and curious and open-minded and willing to change their views, which is hard because politics can also be really tribal and it's hard to get out of our tribes,” said Stephanie.

Aryanna said, “At Athenian, we are a democracy and we have the ability to change policies in our school. I think it's important to talk about politics outside of our school because it is life. It's like Jane said, it's how policies get made and it's how things happen.”

Coaston offered some final advice: “It's important to be thinking about what matters to you. What are things that you see in the world that you wish were different? Find out ways in which you or others could help make them different. You may not be old enough to vote, but you're old enough to count. And you're old enough to matter.”