Juan Pablo Rivera Garza
Blogs Editor
On April 24 the republican presidential candidates courted the vote of students when Connecticut hosted its round of the Republican Presidential Primaries. However, turnout for the primaries in New Canaan was extremely low, clocking in at only 13 percent. These numbers suggests little interest in the primaries, let alone the presidential race as a whole. So the question arises, do students in the high school care about this election?
Some, like junior Frankie Hogan, believe that students do not have much of an interest in the election.“It’s not really important, most of us aren’t old enough to vote, so our voice doesn’t count,” he said.
Sophomore Eloise Somerby agreed. “I stick to my school work and my sports; the election is kind of off my radar,” she said.
But not all of the students have a disinterest in the political system. “I have a great interest in the politics, I like to know how my country works,” freshman Steven Singer said, “I don’t think many of the kids in the high school care as much about the election as I do. Most of them have other interests.”
Some instead see students as having a sizeable interest in the race. “I know of several kids in AP US History that are definitely interested,” History Department chair Richard Webb said. “There may be more interest in the election, here in the high school, than there is nationally.”
Senior Evan Turiano, who was one of the few New Canaan Republicans to have voted in the Republican primary, is definitely interested in the election. “I think this race is really interesting, plus this will be the first time I get to vote in an election,” he said. “I think our generation has been given the opportunity to be really engaged in the electoral process, we’ve lived through a lot of different changes, and this definitely should be making us want to vote.”
Evan is not the only student who thinks the election is of vital importance. Sophomore Lizzie Maguire also believes that people should be interested in the Presidential election. “I think everyone should have interest in their own government, its imperative,” she said.
However, Lizzie believes that many students do not have much of an interest for the race for the White House.“I haven’t had any conversations about politics with any of my classmates, they don’t really care,” she said.
Evan notes that not taking an interest in the race would be a missed opportunity. “This is a really interesting race, a lot of unique things have happened,” he said. “Not voting in the election, or caring about what happens, is a missed chance to become engaged in the conversation. The importance of choosing good leaders to run our country, is paramount.”
Still, there are many students who would prefer to sit this race out. “I don’t really care, as long as our country is in the right direction, I am fine sitting on the sidelines,” Eloise said.
