Foothill's We the People Students Become the 2026 California State Champions

On the weekend of February 7th, Foothill's We the People class traveled to Sacramento for their annual California state competition. This competition offered the opportunity to attend the national finals in Washington D.C., making it an especially crucial and competitive event. However, the successors to the previous 2025 state champions were able to argue their way through the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Sacramento cold to earn the championship title once again. Katherine Yoo [12], a dedicated member of Unit 5, compared the unique tension and stress of nationals to their previous competitions. "This was more nerve-wracking than our regionals or districts, since the state competition is the one that…decides whether we can advance to nationals or not. I think we were all especially nervous since we've all grown to love the We the People routine and didn't want it to be our last run, so we were super happy we were lucky enough to advance!!" Yoo said. The state competition's stressful conditions also allowed each student to obtain a deeper understanding of their discussions and realize the importance of argumentation. "What was more important to us was using the opportunity to dive deep into our topics and really understand and assess the different viewpoints around them. I think this level of relative calm was ultimately helpful too, because having a conversation (which is…the spirit of We the People) shouldn't be something to be feared," Yiheng Song [12] said. Whether they were revisiting familiar topics or learning new concepts, Foothill's We the People class were able to showcase their months of preparation at the California state competition, successfully ending the weekend as 2026 state champions. In April, the class will attend the national competition in Washington D.C.