Opinion: Politics at Rangeview

Many people have their own political opinions and viewpoints. These opinions can make us or break us.

Some examples of our political viewpoints might be:

• What presidential candidate did we prefer in the 2020 election? 
• What political party do we most reside with?
• What are our political ideals?

Politics divide the American people tremendously. Usually, we look at politics through the lense of a whole country, a state, or a city. In this case, we are looking at politics through the lense of high school students, teenagers, and younger people. A study done by the Pew Research Center, found that 61% of Gen Z voters (ages 18 to 23) said they were definitely or probably going to vote for the Democratic candidate in the 2020 election, while nearly a quarter (22%) said they were planning to vote for Trump. 

With Gen Z being the young people of this generation, they’re very passionate about what they believe in. Politics have a big influence on teens and how they view the government. A study done by the New York Times surveying how the 2020 election made teens want to run for government stated that, “By comparison, the 2020 election made about two-thirds of teenagers more interested in running, and 15 percent less interested, and the effect was similar for supporters of the Republican and Democratic candidates and for boys and girls.” This interprets how invested young people are in politics. These young people are so passionate about what they believe in, they are even willing to run for government. 

Gen Zrs are unapologetically expressing their views in each and every way. Many people who are a part of Gen Z are not afraid to take a stand in the causes that they believe in. We have young people such as Greta Thunberg who challenges world leaders on climate change. Emma Gonzalez, who challenges gun control in America, or activist Nupol Kiazolu, who stands up to racial inequality.

These brave young people and many others do everything within their power to fight for the causes in which they believe in. They represent the resilience of this new generation and how much power they have to change the world.

The political compass of Rangeview is very widespread and diverse. There are many different political beliefs people have upon the campus.  

“I’m a very neutral person when it comes to politics, things that are ethical, people need to be fair and equal to everyone,” says senior Chidozirim Stan-udeze, describing her political views. She would classify herself as an Independent. 

“I feel like the government is a scam, they think they run everything, and they do not know how to control it,they think because their upper class they know what they’re doing, and things are not done properly,” said senior, Gaby Romero.

“I’m very into change, and I want to see things change, Black Lives Matter, Climate change,” Sophomore Leilani Ransburg says, describing herself as a Democrat/Liberal.  

“I think we can definitely do better with our political standpoint in our country, and if we just put political viewpoints aside for a moment we can actually get something done in the country,”  said Junior Emmalee Woolwine. She describes herself as an Independent.

 “When everything hits the fan you don’t need to realize what’s going at that moment, you need to worry about what happens after that,” says Senior Aiden Woolwina, describing himself as a Republican. 

“I’m really black positive, BLM, I don’t really stand for the pledge of allegiance anymore, due to Covid, protests, it’s really changed my opinion, because they’re not sticking up for us,” said Senior Deja Harper. She describes herself as a Democrat. 

“Politics right now are bumpy and there are so many different opinions and we are not together right now or united,” says Senior Huego Alarcon.

“Me myself, I try to stay away from all that political stuff, I’d just rather keep my thoughts to myself, ” said Junior Mya Nava. She describes herself as a Democrat  

As a result, people have many different opinions on politics and political issues at Rangeview. Young people and teens are more passionate about what they believe in now than ever before.