COVER 11
NOVEMBER 2017 expect change to occur without intensive efforts. “There certainly are those close races, and even if you don’t prevail, people that are elected know who turned out to vote, and if they see that an age cohort barely shows up, they are not going to pay much attention to it,” 39th district candidate Vivian Watts said. “I have found that legislating for the future is less and less prominent.” Although the Fairfax area is significant in elections at every level of government, the predominant reason for low young voter turnout is simply unawareness. As signs plastered with the names of candidates line the sides of roads, and political advertisements litter websites and social media, most teenagers still are not well informed. Many Hayfield students know little about the 2017 election. A survey of 171 students conducted by H2N earlier this month showed that 50.9 percent of the students surveyed admitted that they were unable to name the gubernatorial candidates. In addition, only 28.7 percent of students consider themselves politically informed, and just 4.1 percent of students said that their classmates were politically informed. Perhaps even more alarming is that when asked which candidate they would hypothetically vote for, 15.2 percent of students responded that they would not vote at all. So why is it that in an area as saturated with politics as Northern
BY THE
The sign directing attendees into the middle school lecture hall. Photo by Maggie Markon
Virginia, students can still come off as being indifferent? “I believe kids our age come off as politically apathetic because we’re too scared to vocalize our actual beliefs,” senior Alex Szymczak said. “I think local politics get thrown under the rug because they’re not as exciting as national matters, but they’re definitely more important because the policies implemented as a result directly affect our everyday lives.” Regardless of ambiguous causes, political involvement is an important step in remedying this contradiction. Zywiol, for example, requires his AP Government students to complete at least five hours of political service as part of the 15 community service hours required of seniors. “Not only does [being involved in politics] aid in the learning process by
Do you consider yourself politically informed?
NUMBERS From 171 responses, see how Hayfield students view the gubernatorial election.
allowing students to have a hands-on experience in our government system, but it also serves as a way for high school students to discover or further learn about their political identity,” junior Heather Baker said. There are endless opportunities for students to become involved in local politics, regardless of age or voting eligibility. “A lot of students at Hayfield are obviously not 18 yet, but you can still get involved in the campaign, and that is what I try to preach to my students,” Zywiol said. “Even if you can’t vote in the election, you can still participate with one of the campaigns or participate with a nonpartisan group. In many ways, getting out and knocking on people’s doors and telling them about a candidate that you support is even more powerful than casting a ballot.”
Have you heard anything about the VA governor election?
YES NO NOT SURE
YES NO MAYBE
If you were to vote for one of these candidates, who would you pick?
UNKNOWN/OTHER RALPH NORTHAM WOULD NOT VOTE ED GILLESPIE CLIFF HYRA
Could you name the candidates who are running to replace VA Gov. Terry McAuliffe? YES NO MAYBE SOME