New things are happening every day. But the students in Severna Park, for the most part, do not know about them. Most students don’t watch the news and are only getting information from potentially unreliable sources on social media.
Soon, these students are going to be an integral part of society and even if issues change, they should still have enough information to be a part of the conversation.
Here are three political and governmental issues that all students should know about.
The National Election for President and for Congress
Tuesday, Nov. 5th is the national Election Day in the fall of 2024 and that day American Citizens will flock to the polls to say who they’d like to be president. But students should know that the Presidential election is not the only one happening.
Midterm elections, as they are called, are elections for those running for the House of Representatives and for the Senate. The voter turnout in these elections, according to the Pew Research Center, is consistently under 50%. While the presidential race gets the headlines, the midterm elections get swept under the rug.
This year, in our district, two of the representatives are up for reelection and both are not returning. Sen. Benjamin Cardin and Rep. John Sarbanes are not going to be running for reelection in 2024. After the primaries, the race for the senate will be between Angela Alsobrooks (D-) and Larry Hogan (R-) and the race for the House will likely be between Sarah Elfreth (D-) and Rob Steinberger (R-) according to CNN.
The midterms are instrumental to the way our government functions and deserve more attention than they get. People running for congressional positions are those who are potentially making the laws that affect students. Voting is important for any election, and while most students are unable to vote right now, in the next few years, they will be 18 and able to cast their ballot. Students shouldn’t get caught up in the lack of coverage in the midterms, they should vote for who they want making the laws that impact them.
The Israel-Hamas War
Since Oct. 7, 2023, there has been fighting in the middle east. Now, almost 7 months later, it is still going on. And now, students on college campuses are speaking up about it. According to the New York Times, more than 3,000 students have been arrested or detained on campus because of pro-palestinian protests.
Students at Severna Park, more specifically the juniors and seniors, are now going on college visits and perhaps more importantly, getting ready to choose and move into their future colleges at the end of the year. With such a vast number of protests going on at colleges across the country, students will be involved in the issue one way or another. Either being a part of the protests themselves or seeing them while walking through campus or just hearing about it from people on social media.
The issue first started in Oct. of 2023 when Hamas launched a sea, air, and land attack on Israel. According to Brittanica, this led to more than 1,200 deaths. This made Oct. 7th the deadliest day for Israel since its independence. The ministry’s death toll of deaths in the war was 36,379 at the end of May and this number has very likely increased.
This issue doesn’t just affect the countries involved. Many leaders of countries have called for a ceasefire and now others on social media are taking part of “digitine” or “digital guillotine”, a movement that consists of unfollowing or blocking celebrities that have not been vocal on their stance on the crisis. This is happening while others on social media are canceling celebrities for sharing their stance on the war.
Since information and potentially misinformation is all around them, students should know about the Israel-Hamas War because it is still a prevalent issue that many people worldwide are involved in, and it is better to have the facts so that they can know what is going on.
Gun Violence
On Tuesday, June 25 2024, surgeon general Vivek Murthy declared gun violence in
The United States a public health crisis. As quoted by the New York Times, Dr. Murthy said that “This issue has been politicized, has been polarized over time. But I think when we understand that this is a public health issue, we have the opportunity to take it out of the realm of politics and put it into the realm of public health.”
According to the document put out by the surgeon general, “Since 2020, firearm‑related injury has been the leading cause of death for U.S. children and adolescents (ages 1–19)” This is the age group that students at Severna Park High School fall into and it is the age group that many of those students younger siblings fall into.
The situation has gotten so dire that the issue needed to be stated as a public health issue in order to raise awareness and draw attention to the fact that it is very much a public health issue when people take a look at the psychological effects that gun violence has on Americans. This statement will raise awareness of the issue and call on policymakers to act by creating laws that will create universal background checks or stricter laws on what types of guns are legal.
This statement is not without opposition. The NRA has long argued against gun violence being labeled as a public health issue and now, they have released a statement calling Dr. Murthy’s advisory “an extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners” as quoted by NPR.
But as the advisory states, “54% of U.S adults report that either they, or a family member, have experienced a firearm-related incident,”. It is not an issue that students will age out of and it is not an issue that will likely go away anytime soon.
No matter where students lie on the political spectrum, information about crucial topics is necessary for students of all ages because regardless of any factors, most students will hear about or be affected by political issues in some way or another. The important thing is that these students are informed so that they can be a part of the conversation, and become the next generation of change, whatever that may be.
