Pitman High students are once again being recognized for their excellence in civics.

On Saturday, the school’s Civic Leaders of America club members attended the Mock Article V Convention at John Adams Academy in Lincoln, a competition between school delegations simulating a Convention of States called by Congress for the purpose of considering and proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Two Pitman High groups won 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, for best overall performance for proposing constitutional amendments. Madiha Haideri, Nadia Haideri and Blake Creamer took 2nd place (and a $500 cash prize) for their Natural Born Clause amendment;  and Isabella Ford, Dante Jenkins, Kayla Thompson and Emerson Newton took 3rd place (and a $250 cash prize) for their National Popular Vote amendment.

"It was our first time participating in the Mock Article V (Amendment) Convention. Students selected a topic of their choosing, researched it, and proposed a constitutional amendment at the convention. It was exciting to hear all of the group's arguments and equally exciting to have placed 2nd and 3rd in our first run at it," said Isaac Farhadian, Pitman High AP U.S. Government teacher and Civic Leaders of America advisor.

The 2nd place winning Natural Born Clause Amendment proposed repealing the clause stating “No person except a natural born Citizen... shall be eligible for the office of President..." while the other requirements would still apply. In their argument, the team exemplified U.S. politicians not born in the U.S. who have had great achievements, like Ilhan Omar or Victoria Spartz. 

"I'm proud that my team and I got to participate in this super awesome event. I had no idea how it would play out and I cannot believe that both Pitman teams placed in the top three, and my team's amendment actually passed. Super proud of all of us and super thankful to the Civic Leaders of America for providing us with this great opportunity. I love speaking on political policies and topics, so this was by far the most enjoyable event I got to participate in," said Madiha Haideri, debate coordinator for CLA.

The 3rd place winning National Popular Vote Amendment proposed changing the presidential election's Electoral College to a purely national vote to ensure that every person has a vote and representation in who is elected to govern. The group argued that the amendment would be especially important to combat voter disenfranchisement, inequity in voter weight based on location and provide a more accurate representation of the people. 

"The MAV competition was really a great experience for all of us because I felt we really grew in our knowledge but also in our bonding as a team," said Ford, VP for CLA.

This is not the first time Pitman High has been recognized for its civics programs.

Last year, Pitman’s Junior State of America was named the 2024 National Civic Impact Award winner, recognizing them as the chapter that has had the biggest impact on increasing the level of civic awareness and engagement at their school.