It’s been three weeks since a classroom of Lodi High School seniors voted Republican George W. Bush for president in the government and economics class’ mock election.

Monday’s news offered little closure to the election brouhaha the class has continued to follow.

The listless students watched a videotape of a CNN broadcast Monday afternoon from the morning news.

“I’m sick of it,” said 17-year-old Ryan Burke, summing up the sentiment of many of her classmates.

While the presidential election has served as a real lesson in civics and history, student interest has waned, some teachers said.

The Lodi High students have kept a pulse on the election through television news and classroom discussions for the last few months, said teacher Greg Wright.

Wright fast-forwarded the videotape so the students could view responses to the certification of some recounted Florida votes by both Bush and Vice President Al Gore.

Some students said they were disappointed with Gore’s actions to continue contesting the results.

“He’s killed his political career,” said 17-year-old Anthony Rossi.

Rossi said the Democratic candidate should have conceded the race and made another attempt at the presidency in four years.

Lindsey Olds, 17, agreed.

She’s had enough of Gore’s grumbling, she said.

“I used to like Gore, but now it’s getting annoying,” she said.

Wright asked how many students experienced Thanksgiving discussions that centered around election debates.

A handful of students responded with stories including one about an hour-long tiffs between relatives.

“Everyone at my house just yelled at the TV,” Burke said.

Wright’s class discussion was similar to many occurring in area schools Monday.

Despite the election buzz, student interest in the election has waned, some teachers said.

Lodi High social science teacher Jackie Heinrich said her students had grown tired of the subject in the last two weeks.

“Most people, including the kids, are just sick of it,” she said.

Other teachers have noticed similar responses.

Steve von Berg, Tokay High School’s social science department chairman, said his classes have studied the election for months.

Students have been inundated with election-related classwork in government classes, he said.

Following an election can liven up a typical social science class.

“An election just makes it more interesting because you can apply all of that,” von Berg said.

Some teachers were disappointed they didn’t get to teach government while the election was underway, according to von Berg. Instead, the teachers taught economics during the first semester.

“They knew it was going to be a good election,” he said.

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