With millions of voters planning to cast their ballots this November, the 2024 presidential election is expected to be the largest in American history. There’s no doubt that the result will affect America’s political landscape for years to come.
In response to these high stakes, high school students across the country have found ways to make their voices heard over the past year. With its diverse population and wide array of club opportunities giving students a unique ability to develop their opinions and take action to express them, WJ is no exception. In the buildup to an election of historic polarization, intense rhetoric and widespread activism, these actions have taken a variety of forms.
The most prominent method of political participation is voting, with many seniors casting their ballots for the first time each election year. This year, the usual excitement of voting for the first time has been mixed with an increase in stress from 2024’s turbulent campaign season.
“When you’re getting close to an election the tensions get higher and everything gets more stressful,” senior Nicholas Nagurney said. “The media on both sides starts demonizing everybody else.”
Reactions to the approach of this year’s election have been mixed, but most seniors recognize the significance of casting their ballots. A recent survey of WJ students found that 77% of seniors think that this election is more important than previous elections.
“I’m excited to vote. I think a lot of people aren’t really excited but they know they probably should. [Students] are following politics a lot more now,” Nagurney said.
Many WJ students have also engaged politically through various clubs, student organizations and internships. One of these students is junior Vijay Kannan, who has built a long resume of campaign work and voter outreach over the past several years.
“This summer I worked on the Jamie Raskin for Congress campaign, which included weekly canvassing and phone banking opportunities to mobilize voters in the DMV,” Kannan said.
Although most of Kannan’s work has been in supporting Democratic candidates, he has also made efforts to boost student participation of all party affiliations.
“Earlier this week I ran a voter registration drive at WJ where I was trying to get kids 16 and over to register to vote,” Kannan said. “The amount of kids who wanted to be more involved in the political process was so cool, there’s a whole younger generation that really wants to change things.”
Despite only making up around 8% of WJ’s population, many Republican students have also decided to become politically involved. This group includes sophomore Bamdad Hajati, the co-founder of the Young Republicans Club at WJ.
“I had a couple friends who were Republican so we said ‘why not make [the club],’ especially because it was about a year out from the election,” Hajati said.
The Young Republicans Club has been inactive this school year, but Hajati continues to discuss and debate politics with other students regularly. Through these conversations, he has experienced the effects of political polarization firsthand.
“Last week after a cross country race we were talking about politics and the moment one of my teammates found out I was a Republican the first thing he said was ‘f*** you,’” Hajati said. “[Democrats] aren’t really as informed as much about Republicans, so the moment you say you’re a Republican they think of the people who did Jan. 6.”
Despite political divisions and their effects, Hajati and Kannan both encourage any politically-interested students to get involved, emphasizing that students can make a difference no matter their grade level or previous experience.
“If you think you want to get involved, try it out and see what happens,” Kannan said. “You can absolutely make an impact at a really young age and get involved at any level.”
