KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Wednesday, many high school students turned their TVs on in hopes to watch the electoral college count.
Instead, they saw the riot led by President Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol. in Washington D.C.
"I believe as long as we sit here and toy with the idea of the destruction of our democracy. We will not be able to move on," James McGee, senior at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, said.
The joint session in Congress did begin the vote. However, things outside the Capitol turned violent as rioters made their way inside halting the vote.
This happened as students in the Kansas City Public Schools district were watching it all unfold.
"This has been definitely far from normal," McGee said.
These Lincoln Prep seniors were hoping to spend the day learning about the electoral college vote.
"For me, who is now a newly registered voter, to see whats going on and how I can look at and have all the facts when the next election comes up," McGee said.
McGee said he sees a difference in how Black Lives Matter protests were treated compared to the riot.
"They were looked at as radicals and they weren't as violent what is going on right now, where we have the US Capitol building under threat. It's been locked down because people are trying to break in," McGee said.
This teaching some students what politicians can and can't do when it comes to deciding an election.
"We can't go off beliefs or assumptions and we must follow the constitution," Ani Atluri, another senior at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, said. "The United States has been following the U.S. procedure for several years and we can't just ask someone to do something that is not in the constitution."
These students were saddened to see a day that is suppose to educate and move the country forward turned violent.
"As a country, I hope that we look at this to be an example to what we are not supposed to do as Americans," McGee said.
A government class at Lawrence High School watched the national news coverage in the afternoon.
Their U.S. government teacher, Eric Galbreath said even though students had a plan day and didn't have to join, they still wanted to watch over video conference together and ask questions.
"With it being my first time to vote this year and getting to see how the government is reacting to all of this, I think it's very interesting to see other people's point of views on things," Amaya Harris, student at Lawrence High School, said.
Galbreath said his goal was to teach his students how the votes are cast and that it is a reflective time for them.
"What this does is it creates an opportunity for us to do an analysis and to engage in meaningful discussions for the next few days," Galbreath said.
