Teens and Politics

By JASMINE OKBINOGLU
EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL

What do politics mean to the average student? Do today’s youth really care?

Most teens in high school are busy and can’t vote because they’re not old enough. But that doesn’t mean they all don’t care.

Just look at all the Obama shirts they wear, the Clinton and McCain buttons on their backpacks. And listen to their conversations about the November election.

Still, teens have a lot on their plates. Classes, homework, friends, jobs and sports don’t leave a lot of time for politics. So while many know the general goings-on, it’s difficult for some teens to keep up with politics on a daily basis.

“Honestly, I enjoy listening to and knowing things regarding politics in America, especially with elections coming so close,” says 15-year-old Ann Hodges, a junior at Eisenhower High School. “However, I don’t take time out of my day” to keep up with politics, she says.

She’s not alone.

Edwin Llamas, a 16-year-old junior at Eisenhower High School, says he doesn’t watch the news every day, either, because he doesn’t have the time.

If he does watch, he says it’s because “one day I want to be a lawyer, so I think I would need to know politics and gain experience that way.”

Llamas and Hodges both agree that Barack Obama is the better presidential candidate and are crossing their fingers hoping he wins.

Some students are interested in politics, but don’t feel there’s a point in having a political opinion.

“My belief is that students under the age of 18 shouldn’t really form opinions on political aspects because they can’t do anything about it,” says 17-year-old Max Foster-McCalpine, a senior at Davis High School. “A lot of teens’ opinions also come from their parents, so it’s not really even their opinions. That is why I pay attention and watch the news, but I don’t have views.”

Foster-McCalpine also says he doesn’t support any candidate for president because he won’t be able to vote in the election.

Sixteen-year-old Daniel Ullom, a junior at Eisenhower, agrees that teens can’t do much about the next president. But he says he believes political decisions will affect him. And he does have his own opinions about the current candidates.

“McCain is not well-rounded in politics, more focused on war efforts, and is old so he might die,” Ullom says. “Obama doesn’t have enough experience and makes promises that he can’t keep.”

“I know many candidates promise things they can’t keep, but I feel Obama is basing his campaign around them. So I don’t really support either, but I do care,” he says.

First-time Voter Still Undecided

By ANDY CARROLL
LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL

Next fall represents very notable “firsts” and “lasts” for me.

It will be my last year of high school. It will also mark the first election — presidential or otherwise — in which I’ll be able to vote.

With my 18th birthday falling 13 days before the presidential election Nov. 4, I will be able to cast my vote.

This makes me part of a minority at my school. With that in mind, a few people have asked me who I might consider voting for in the 2008 presidential race.

Now, it’s already pretty clear where some of my peers lie on the political scale. Some give the impression they’re definitely leaning to the left. I’ve listened to conversations about the debate over Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, accompanied with disdain for any potential Republican candidate.

On the other hand, some of my peers seem to be leaning to the right. One of my friends has been talking up the Republican Party since the last presidential election.

But I’m not yet sure of my personal political direction. With about four months to go before I turn 18, I’ve yet to decisively label myself a liberal or a conservative.

There isn’t a clear-cut family influence for me. While my dad’s side is mostly a mix of independents and conservatives, many of the relatives on my mom’s side are registered Democrats.

All the while, I’m not totally sure where to stick my pin on the political map.

It seems like the “cool” thing for teenagers to do is take up liberal values. And it’s no wonder, with the kinds of campaign run by Obama, and earlier, Clinton.

I believe there is some kind of change needed. For the most part, it seems to be the liberals who are willing to make such changes. To me, the liberal stance seems to support and fight for the rights of the people as a collective whole.

But, on the other hand, change isn’t always necessary. Some aspects of this country are always going to be the way they are. So long as there are big, successful businesses, there will be rich and poor. As nice an idea as it may be to believe, a government can never fix all the problems of its society. Though the idea of working for the betterment of society as a whole is a good one, the importance of family — as well as faith, should it apply — cannot be forgotten either.

That’s why ideas about conservatism also appeal to me. Ideas of family and faith — two of the big items in the conservative book — are very important to me. I believe the country should stick as closely to traditional values as possible, though change should be made where it is needed.

I feel like the clash between liberalism and conservatism is a battle of the new and the old. I believe the old can be made better with the new, and there are flaws within every political division.

Still, neither liberalism nor conservatism fully work for me because there are bits of each I like and pieces I don’t. I have full confidence ideas from both sides can work well in tandem, but they’re not without flaws on their own.

For that reason, I think it’s just as likely I might end up being an independent. Though I wouldn’t be able to definitively call myself a liberal or a conservative, I would probably end up finding a place where my overlapping values don’t contradict those of either end of the political spectrum.