Students Participate in Election 2016 Through the OneVote Program
by Caroline Wisner for Walkersville High School Lion’s Pride
Some students crave the opportunity to voice their political opinions and vote in some sort of political election before they turn eighteen. That opportunity was presented to Walkersville High School students this week through the OneVote program from Channel One News.
October 17th through the 19th students were encouraged to visit the WHS website and click on the OneVote logo on the home page. Clicking on the logo then took students to a google docs form. Once at the form students could pick who they would like to see as president and vice president, a senator, and a representative for their congressional district.
The results were predicted to be announced the next day for students to debate and discuss with others. The winner of the WHS poll was Donald Trump with Hillary Clinton slightly behind him. Although this voting may not be as exciting for all students as the Ravens Rise program or a common Twitter poll, the OneVote outcome provided an excellent opportunity for students to engage in intelligent political conversations.
WHS students can not be pinpointed distinctly Republican, Democrat, or third party as a whole. This was shown through the OneVote voting, “I voted for Clinton because I support her and I thought the program was worth voting in,” said junior Linsay Winpigler.
Staff at WHS praised the program for directing students attention to current issues outside of the Walkersville area, and letting them feel like a part of the election. “I thought it was a good program; it gave students a chance to let their voices be heard even though they’re underage,” said government teacher Jamie Skena.
Although most high school students are not old enough to participate in the actual voting for the presidential or local elections, OneVote simulated the feeling of being involved in government for students well. “I thought it was pretty cool because it gave us a chance to be part of the election,” said freshman Morgan Carter.
“I also enjoyed it because it let us feel like we were part of the election even though we aren’t old enough to vote for real yet,” added fellow freshman Amelia Harm.
It was great to see students forming their own political views as well, instead of just taking the same stances as their parents. Overall the OneVote program felt like a successful experience for students who participated.
