Luise empfängt New York Times-Reporterin

Als Teil einer Vortragsreihe des Amerikahauses NRW e.V. hatten Schülerinnen und Schülern der Q2 gestern die Gelegenheit mit Jazmine Ulloa, einer Reporterin der New York Times, zu sprechen und sie zu den anstehenden US Präsidentschaftswahlen zu befragen. Ulloa gab einen detaillierten Einblick in ihre journalistische Arbeit der Berichterstattung zu den laufenden Wahlkampagnen in den USA, den zentralen Themen der Debatten, die das Land spalten und sie berichtete auch persönlich über ihren Werdegang und gab einen spannenden Einblick in die Ereignisse des 6. Januar 2021 aus der Perspektive einer Reporterin vor Ort, als Trump-Anhänger versucht haben, das Kapitol zu stürmen.  Sie stellte sich geduldig und auf Augenhöhe den zahlreichen Fragen unserer Oberstufenschülerinnen und –schüler und vermittelte ein differenziertes Bild der politischen Lage, wie man an dem folgenden Bericht einer Schülerin sehen kann:

US Election 2024 - Jazmine Ulloa (New York Times)

As the 2024 U.S. presidential elections get closer, we had the opportunity to listen to Jazmine Ulloa, a national politics reporter for the New York Times, who came to our school this September. She talked about what she does during the election season and how she follows candidates, especially Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate, across the United States. She shared her thoughts on the issues and people that are shaping American politics today. According to Ulloa, this election is showing big differences in the candidates’ views and in how Americans see the future of the country. The U.S. map is deeply divided, with Democrats mainly in the North and Southeast, where there are many Latino, African, and Asian immigrants. Republicans, on the other hand, are more popular in other parts of the country. They focus on immigration, the economy, and freedom. Because of the “winner-takes-all” system in the U.S., swing states are crucial as they often decide the election outcome.

Ulloa explained several key issues that are important to voters this year: for Republicans, immigration, border security, and economic growth are at the top of the list. Trump, who is running for a third time this year after losing to Joe Biden in 2020, has focused on limiting immigration and enforcing stricter rules for both legal and illegal immigrants. For Democrats, the big issues are abortion rights, climate change, and protecting democracy, with many seeing Trump as a serious threat to democratic values after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Some younger Republicans, like Nikki Hailey, want a new generation of leadership to appeal to voters, who are tired of both major parties. Even though Trump faces several legal problems, it hasn’t weakened his support among Republicans. In fact, as Ulloa noted, many of his supporters see him as a victim and continue to stand by him. But in swing states, voters are paying close attention to these legal issues, and this could affect his chances. Ulloa also discussed how the 2024 election could impact other countries, especially Germany. If Kamala Harris wins, we can expect her to focus more on international partnerships, especially with allies like Germany. This is different from Trump’s “America First” approach, which puts U.S. domestic issues ahead of foreign relationships. The results could impact trade, defense, and other important issues between the U.S. and Germany. Finally, Ulloa shared a bit about how she writes for the New York Times. She explained how important it is to do careful research and fact-checking, especially when misinformation is so common on social media. The New York Times goes through several layers of editing to ensure their articles are accurate, particularly on sensitive topics like elections. As the 2024 election draws nearer, issues like immigration, the economy, climate change, and the future of democracy are front and center in political debates. Given this great opportunity, our grade can be very thankful to have insights from a journalist who witnessed a lot of important situations, like January 6th, and to learn a few things about the US elections and especially her life. We’ll have to wait until November 5th to see how it all plays out, but we know this election will shape the future of the U.S. and have an impact on the rest of the world, too.

(Elisabeth, Q2)

Vielen Dank an Frau Harbecke und Frau Mauel vom Amerikahaus, dass sie diese Veranstaltung, journalistische Arbeit und aktuelle politische Themen so „hands-on“ zu erleben, für uns möglich gemacht haben!

WW