March 2024 Magazine — Silver Chips Print

POLITICAL EDITION

WES MOORE 6

A Q&A with the Governor of Maryland

HOW MCPS TREATS

NEWCOMERS 10

MCPS welcomes thousands of immigrant students to the county each year

POLITICAL POLLING 20

How data informs and shapes the political landscape

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Della Baer

Zoë Kaiser

Julia Lian

Giselle Zelaya

DESIGN EDITORS

Dyan Nguyen

Nora Pierce

Caleb Plank

MANAGING EDITORS

Sela Colavito

Teddy Curtin

Mandy Guo

Dyan Nguyen

Nora Pierce

Viveka Sinha

Sasha Vesensky

Eliza Warren

Sophie Yohannan

ENGLISH WRITERS

Greta Andelman

Laila Andelman

Naomi Andelman

Raunak Banerjee

Eloise Carter

Jay Clouse

Ethan de Brauw

Rabira Dosho

Talia Egnal

Maxwell Erlebacher

Evelyn Goldin

Abigail Greenberg

Tharaa Izuagie

Zachary Karp

Emily Kretschmer

Amen Lemiesa

Carina Nicodemus

Chloe Pegg

Keelin Pegg

Sohccem Ruphael

Diego Santoro-Velez

Auden Seigel

Nikki Tjiputra

Doris Wang

Norah Wilson

SPANISH WRITERS

Beatriz da Silva

Axel Henrriquez

Nelvi Quiñonez Rodríguez

Naila Romero-Alston

Marta Vasquez

Dylan Warren

SOPHIA LI

MEDIA EDITORS

Margot Buehler

Madeline Gold

ART EDITORS

Dami Kim

Sophia Li

ART STAFF

Yahaira Barrero

Josephine Brunn Lake

Margarita Contreras Amaya

Maria Espinal

Rosalyn Fang

Eric Le

Mia Levings

Allison Lin

Jamie Lozada-McBride

Angela Martinez-Gonzalez

Kate McDonough

Evie Orcutt

Mina Ricotti

Kimberly Solis

Lucia Wang

Chikara Yamagishi

Jason Yu

PHOTO EDITORS

Fiona Bondarev

Raffi Charkoudian-Rogers

Maia Turpen

PHOTO STAFF

Anagha Bhuvanagiri

Kenean Bizuwork

Margot Buehler

Ian Gleason

Madeline Gold

Rose Kepka

Marin Lederer

Jamie Lozada-McBride

Naila Romero-Alston

Dylan Warren

BUSINESS EXECUTIVES

Isabelle Mathiascheck

Finnegan Oakes

BUSINESS STAFF

Rowan Boyce

Ava Falcone

Jackie Wang

Edith Yang

ADVISERS

Maria Eugenia Tanos

Jeremy Stelzner

silverchips

COVER PHOTO

How to get involved

A conversation with Governor Wes Moore

From generation to generation

A look into political differences at Blair

¿Una llegada acogedora?

Cómo MCPS da la bienvenida a sus estudiantes recién llegados

La política de Guatemala a través del tiempo

Guatemaltecos exigen respeto a sus decisiones

PRO/CON

Should the U.S. continue to use the Electoral College?

The politics of education

Influencing policy

How lobbying becomes legislation

A look into the 2024 presidential election

From Takoma Park to Capitol Hill

Jamie Raskin’s journey to Congress

Numbers speak louder

How public opinion polling is showing a changing landscape in U.S. politics

Soñadores unidos

Crossing the pond

How the British Embassy forges international relationships

Nuevas elecciones, nuevas controversias

Tres elecciones polémicas de América Latina

Campaigning through a screen

Chips Clips

Maia Turpen

Teddy Curtin, Zachary Karp

Carina Nicodemus, Auden Seigel

Naomi Andelman, Eloise Carter

Beatriz da Silva

Axel Henrriquez, Marta Vasquez

Jay Clouse, Amen Lemiesa

Ethan de Brauw, Rabira Dosho

Sela Colavito, Maxwell Erlebacher

Amen Lemiesa, Diego Santoro-Velez

Greta Andelman, Sasha Vesensky

Tharaa Izuagie, Emily Kretschmer

Naila Romero-Alston, Dylan Warren

Keelin Pegg, Nora Pierce

Jamie Lozada-McBride, Nelvi Quiñonez Rodríguez

Abigail Greenberg, Chloe Pegg

Madeline Gold

How to get involved

BY TEDDY CURTIN AND ZACHARY KARP

Blair students attend a school that has made national news for political demonstrations, live in one of the most civically engaged communities across the nation, and are situated just a bus ride away from the heart of national politics in Washington, D.C. Whether a student voices their opinions in a school club or testifies to them in front of the Board of Education, each can find their own way to get involved civically.

Politically-aligned clubs

Most of the time, Room 164 functions like every other classroom—regular lectures on politics and government take place across all hours of the morning—except for one day on Oct. 31, when students there played a role in deciding an election.

Room 164 hosts the Blair Young Democrats chapter on Tuesdays during lunch. In time for the 2023 Virginia General Assembly Elections, the members of the club got together to phone-bank in support of the election’s democratic candidates. Lily Scheckner, President of the Young Democrats Club, organized the effort by emailing dozens of campaigns offering the help of her club. One responded with a link to a phone-banking website, which contained information of registered Virginia voters.

“Once we [got the voter information], everyone had a lot of fun calling a bunch of people during lunch … each of us [called] about 40 plus people,” Scheckner says.

Shortly after their phone-banking, the Virginia Senate turned Democrat. On days when Young Dems are not phone-banking, they can be found organizing a gun reform walkout or engaging in friendly debate and discussions.

Scheckner especially values leading an exercise called “echo chambers,” where Young Democrats Club members discuss recent events in the Democratic Party and the dangers of partisanship and idolization of political figures. “I like to go into the ‘echo chambers’ … especially when stuff like [corruption scandals are happening], where very clearly, there’s something to be discussed about Democrats’ role in a negative light,” Scheckner says. While there was formerly a Blair Young Republicans Club, it no longer

meets.

Internships and fellowships

Beyond Young Democrats, Blair students have no shortage of access to nationwide programs. One such program is the Democracy Summer project, a youth-oriented political organization founded by U.S. Congressional Representative for Maryland’s 8th District Jamie Raskin. The project includes a six-week summer fellowship stretching from early July to mid-August, an annual project incorporating elements of political campaigning with educational activities.

In addition to in-person activities, Fellows meet in a biweekly national seminar on Zoom, where they discuss policy making, voter mobilization, advocacy projects, and current elections, and listen to a range of speakers, from politicians to lawyers and business owners. “We got to listen to speakers who were also past politi-

istration … in person, we got to do a lot of phone-banking, so that’s asking people to donate to Democracy Summer or Jamie Raskin’s campaign,” Jung says.

"[W]e got to talk a lot [in seminars] about policymaking, how we can mobilize voters, or how we can help with voter registration."

KATHRYN JUNG

Fellows also pack together into cars headed for Virginia, Washington, D.C., and rural Maryland and walk from house to house, educating people on the voting process and encouraging them to vote for local Democrats. Other in-person events include visits to historical sights, museums,

PHOTO BY MARGOT BUEHLER

cians or congressmen … We also really helped with Jamie Raskin’s campaign [through] trying to get people to vote,” Blair junior Kathryn Jung, who became a Democracy Summer Fellow in 2023, says. “[W]e got to talk a lot [in seminars] about policymaking, how we can mobilize voters, or how we can help with voter reg-

and a tour of the House of Representatives. The program enabled Jung to connect with civically engaged youth across schools and grade levels. “I did get to meet a lot of upperclassmen and college students, too. We would exchange phone numbers then … you wouldn’t really stick to the same group of people,” Jung recounts.

BLAIR 4 CHANGE Students in the club collaborate.

Local students find different ways to participate civically

Like Jamie Raskin, many local leaders have their own programs to get youth involved in their campaigns and shaping policy. Lynne Harris, Vice President of the MCPS Board of Education, offers a student internship during the school year. The internship is divided into committees, each representing an issue that the current interns are passionate about.

This year, the committees are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), sustainability, LGBTQ rights, and graduation requirements. “As DEI, we work on diversity and inclusion issues throughout the county,” Nikhita Bhatt, Blair junior and DEI Committee Director, explains. “We already have written a curriculum white paper, which is basically a long paper explaining why we need more inclusivity in the curriculums and we’re planning to do more with that this year … we also created a slide show and presentation to distribute to particularly middle school and to underrepresented areas like the D.C. [area] to get more young students involved.”

Although the interns are divided into committees, they consistently meet together to collaborate and learn more about what each committee is doing.

"We did videos and social media posts, letter writing, and eventually the bill got passed."

NIKHITA BHATT

The internship also helps students expand their advocacy outside of the county. “In the spring, we’re going to be going to Annapolis and talking to some legislators there [it’s going to be] a big advocacy day,” Bhatt says.

Bhatt’s advocacy as a student intern is not restricted to educational policy. Through connections made in her internship, she has worked with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Bill and the Montgomery County Council.

“I used to work with an organization called Eco MoCo … [and we] worked on a letter writing campaign with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network for Bill 13-22 in the [Mont-

gomery] County Council … regarding building electrification … We did videos and social media posts, letter writing, and eventually the bill got passed,” Bhatt says.

Testifying

In addition to expressing her opinions on social media, and through letter-writing, Bhatt has testified in front of a room full of MCPS BOE members, parents, and legislators at a BOE hearing. Standing at a podium for three minutes, her voice had the ability to influence policy in her school, county, state, and nation.

Bhatt testified in support of upholding the current opt-out policy for LGBTQ inclusive materials in the classroom. The BOE’s current policy does not allow parents to pull their kids out of the classroom when LGBTQ inclusive materials are included in instruction. This policy is currently under fire, with lawsuits being filed against the MCPS BOE and former superintendent, Monifa McKnight. “I was at the Board of Education testifying for more inclusive curriculums … there was me and there was one or two other people testifying for more inclusive curricula, having more LGBTQ+ books … this is something we need—to learn to really

recognize the diversity of our school system,” Bhatt says.

Although Bhatt does not believe her testimony alone was the reason behind the county’s decision to uphold the policy, she does believe that every student’s voice matters toward making a difference. “I’m not going to say my testimony was the reason that MCPS decided to keep this policy in place. But it was a small reason and it was my voice. Coupled with hundreds of other people saying we really need books that represent our students, we need everyone to read these books … [with] a lot of people making noise [we] can [create] big change,” Bhatt says.

As Bhatt showed in her collaboration with the BOE, Jung in her discussions with politicians and voters, and Scheckner in her phone-banking, despite not being old enough to vote, when students get together and get involved, their voices will be heard all the same.

Applications for Democracy Summer 2024 are currently open and will close on April 14. The sign-up form for public comment at MCPS Board of Education meetings is available on the MCPS website.

PHOTO BY IAN GLEASON MAKING A STATEMENT Bhatt and other members of the Student Climate Action Council testify in front of the Board of Education.

Q&A with Gov. Wes Moore

BY CARINA NICODEMUS AND AUDEN SEIGEL

Wes Moore was inaugurated as Maryland’s first Black governor on Jan. 18, 2023. He has previously served in the U.S. Army, owned a small business that prepared first-generation students for college, published several books, and was the CEO of Robinhood, one of the largest anti-poverty organizations in the U.S. Moore views his background in service as one of the most defining aspects of his life and career as he looks toward his future serving Maryland.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

You’ve previously referred to yourself as a service-based governor. How has your background in service affected you and your vision for Maryland?

The thing that I try to instill is I believe in a participatory democracy. I believe in a government where everybody should have a voice, where everybody should be heard, and everybody’s input should be understood when decisions are being made. And I think that we demonstrate that with our administration, just in our six months in office. We have had over 150 events in our communities, going everywhere from Western Maryland to Mountain Maryland, to the Eastern Shore, and everywhere in between. And we’ve been able to build an ad-

ministration that really does reflect the people of this state, where people in this state can look up at this administration, no matter where you live, no matter what your background is, and you can say, ‘I see myself in that cabinet and that administration’. It’s also the most excellent cabinet that has been assembled so we’re really proud of the fact that we have been able to hold true to our word, to leave no one behind, which is going to be the governing philosophy for how we’re going to be working moving forward.

e What has been the biggest motivation for you on your path where you have dedicated your life to giving back and serving the public?

A big thing for me was I knew from a relatively early age that I wanted to devote my life to public service and a lot of it was because of my family. From early on, I have experienced that there are consequences to global policies. I was raised by an immigrant single mom. My father died in front of me when I was three because he didn’t get the healthcare that he needed. My mother didn’t get her first job that gave her benefits until I was 14 years old. I saw firsthand what the implications of [broken policies] look like, so I knew that I wanted to devote my life to make sure that I was gonna fight for people like my mom, my dad, my grandparents and my cousins who I saw work through that [struggle]. For me whether it was the time in the military, or starting a college-preparing organization for first generation students, or running one of the largest poverty fighting organizations, it’s really more of a continuation of a commitment where I wanted to do what I could to try to impact the lives, where I’ve seen the consequences of broken policies.

Many high school students are worried about the impacts of climate change and how it will affect their future. Can you explain some of your environmental policies?

And they should be. We’re watching the impacts of climate change that are hitting our communities, and frankly, they’re hitting Maryland disproportionately hard for a variety of

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR WES MOORE

GRAPHIC BY CARINA NICODEMUS AND AUDEN SEIGEL

reasons. If we look at our topography and we look at how many water-lying areas that we have in the state of Maryland, there are real consequences to it. If you look at the lack of infrastructure resiliency and what you’re seeing where Howard County is having 100-year storms every five years, or how Baltimore City is the seventh highest heat island in the country because of the lack of tree canopy. The consequences are real. That’s the motivation for why we have been so aggressive on this issue. We want to have aggressive climate targets that are going to get us to 100% clean energy by 2035. We want to be able to make Maryland the offshore wind capital of the country.

In your book The Other Wes Moore you explained the [chilling truth] of how another man named Wes Moore who is now serving a life sentence, could have had your story. How are you making sure that kids of all backgrounds get the support they need to succeed inside of school and out?

I think a lot of people understand and see that one of my big takeaways from the story is that the chilling truth is his story could’ve been mine and the tragedy is that my story could have been his. When we talk about Leave No One Behind, that was not just a campaign strategy, but that was a governing philosophy. It’s a lens of how we think about our policies, I

mean it. We believe that we can create a framework of state government that is very intentional about being inclusive to all people. Since that line between our lives and someone else’s is so thin, as I tried to highlight in that book, I think that it hasn’t been a surprise to people that that has also been a governing philosophy.

Another big concern of students has been the issue of gun violence. What would your message be to them with regards to what you are doing about gun violence among young people?

There is no higher priority that we have in this administration.The way we’re going to deal with the issue of gun violence by being able to support law enforcement. We’ve just put together a historic package including $122 million dollars towards local law enforcement, record-funding $11 million dollars towards the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, additional funding going towards recruiting and training for local law enforcement. But also saying that we also have to deal with the pipeline issue. It’s the reason that we have served money towards the public education system, $100 million dollars [in state scholarships and grants for higher education]. This is going to be the moment when we are going to rid ourselves of the false choices that we’ve been offered. Where it’s like: ‘Oh, are you going to deal with mental health or are you going to deal with public safety?’ We have to deal with

both. We can’t choose, and our communities don’t want us to choose. It’s a job of the entire administration to work in partnership with local jurisdictions and federal officials to be able to ensure that our communities are safe.

Since you became Governor what do you believe is the most important thing that you

have accomplished?

It is not just what we have gotten done. There are things we have gotten done that I’m really proud of. The fact that we were able to go 10 for 10 on our legislative package which includes everything from raising the minimum wage to making the most aggressive assault on child poverty, to creating the first service year option for high school graduates in the country, to building the most remarkable and diverse cabinet and team in America. But, I think it’s not just the what we have gotten done, but the how. It’s the fact that every piece of legislation that we’ve authored we’ve been able to get passed bi-partisan. It’s the fact that we have done over 150 visits around the state of Maryland covering down on every single jurisdiction. We have been going everywhere and we have been keeping our promise to the people of the state. What I’m really proud of is not just the what we’ve been able to get done, but the how. And the how is we have gotten it done together.

From generation to generation

TA look into political differences at Blair

hroughout the U.S., political trends reveal stark differences across generations. As age groups generally experience the same events, traumas, and innovations, these continuities often impact their political beliefs as well. Stella Rouse, a politics and government professor and author of The Politics of Millennials: Political Beliefs and Policy Preferences of America’s Most Diverse Generation, offers an explanation as to how a generations’ shared experiences permeate in politics. “When you talk about political attitudes, policy preferences, how you look at the world, … [it is] often defined by sort of your generation and what occurred during those formative years,” Rouse says.

Across the nation, there is a trend of older generations, namely the Silent Generation (Silents) and Babyboomers (Boomers), generally leaning conservatively, while younger generations, such as Millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z), are more liberal. These trends may in part be due to the diversity of younger generations compared with older generations. Both Silent and Boomer populations are upwards of 70 percent non-hispanic white, while Generation X (Gen X), Millennials, and Gen Z are 61, 56, and 53 percent non-hispanic white, respectively in the U.S.

While age is not the only factor involved in political differences, Silver Chips spoke with students and staff members to gauge how age plays a role at Blair.

Do you see age as a factor in political beliefs or political division?

“Yeah, absolutely, I do. I think that I can only speak for myself on this front, in that I have found myself becoming more conservative, although I would not call myself a conservative, as I get older.”

“I definitely see, age divides, just with different ways of people thinking. It’s not always the case. Like my dad, he’s in his 70s, is super liberal, and my father in law is in his 80s and is incredibly conservative. So it does depend.”

“I think it definitely matters what generation you’re coming from, as far as your appreciation for the voting process too, and how we look at political candidates and just like the political system.”

“I think that generational events often affect how certain generations will view political events and stuff like that. So I think age is definitely a major factor.”

Which form of campaign or political outreach is most effective in reaching you? How do you receive most of your political news or cur-

“The most effective way to reach me, I would say canvassing door to door, it tells me somebody’s willing to get out there and do leg work, although I recognize the efficiency of social media and stuff. I don’t use social media, though.”

“I read the newspaper every day. I get the Washington Post, and I get this PDF of it and I prefer that. Because the news as it comes on social media is raw, it’s not corroborated, it’s not contextualized ... so I read the newspaper the next day where the smoke is cleared.”

“Reddit is where I get a lot of my news or friends [send] me articles. I don’t watch the news, I don’t have cable, and I kind of stay off of TV news in general.”

“I see most of my news on TikTok to be honest, just scrolling through my for you page even if I’m not searching for it, it just pops up on my for you page. Sometimes, scrolling through Twitter, maybe I’ll see it here or there.”

Leslie Appino, Boomer Adam Clay, Gen X

Jordan Warner, Millennial

Liahana King Cull, Gen Z

Edmund Ryan, Boomer Sean Gabaree, Gen X

Hannah Block, Millennial

Hasset Wondem, Gen Z

BY NAOMI ANDELMAN AND ELOISE CARTER

Are you concerned about climate change? Do you think the government should do more to address it?

Natalia Guerrido, Boomer Tony Mensah, Gen X

“Yes, I’m concerned about climate change. The Government needs to do more. In fact, I’ll be retiring at some point in the next, let’s say, 10 years. I’m thinking about trying to find a place to retire where I don’t have to worry about global warming as much.”

“The reality is we’re seeing the weather concerns, it’s certainly impacting us financially, whenever we have these disasters. These are very real things that, unfortunately, are going to continue to impact not only my generation.”

Douglas Jimenez, Millennial

“I think it’s an existential threat, and the government’s not doing enough, international governments as well, so, unfortunately, my views aren’t taken into consideration. Most people don’t seem to think it’s an issue, but I definitely think it’s a huge problem.”

“Certainly. I mean, okay, sure, we’re starting to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, but it’s very low, we’re very much not doing enough. We still have codependency in many places, which is itself a major contributor to climate change.”

Who are your local and national representatives? Do you feel they represent your political beliefs?

“So Jamie Raskin is my member of Congress in the House. Chris Van Hollen, Ben Cardin are Senators … I’m in sync with Van Hollen and Cardin and Jamie Raskin. I like the way they vote. I respect Jamie so much for leading the impeachment trials, especially given what his family had gone through.”

“My representatives are Sarbanes and Raskin for federal, and yes, I do think generally, they represent my beliefs. Are they doing what I need them to do right now? No. But that’s not a specific issue, that’s a congressional issue. Congress is lazy and [doing] nothing right now.”

“So I live in Washington, D.C. and Washington, D.C. does not have statehood … But I’m a big fan of the Maryland representative that represents where I teach in Silver Spring and Jamie Raskin. The fact that I’ve seen him at Blair, at least on a handful of occasions … he seems invested in the community.”

“At this age, I’m not really thinking about who I am voting for or who represents me. I do know certain names, but it’s more like the president and then every once in a while, the person from Maryland.”

“We need a different party. I’m not a registered Republican, I’m not registered Democrat, I can’t affiliate with either of them … we need honest, good people that are going to do what’s good for all the people.”

“There should be some type of way, where ideology should be just set aside when it comes to teaching the truth. You know, if we can just teach the truth, it’s not hard.”

How do you think we can lessen polarization in the country?

“I think we need to start holding … politicians or the people that are elected more accountable. We need to start auditing [and] doing just more … legal action, so things get done.”

“Before the 90s, there wasn’t much bias based on [political ideology]. But I don’t know, I think something shifted … right now, [Democrats are] gonna most likely support someone who is Democrat versus Republican. So, it’s just petty beef.”

Kevin Moose, Boomer Renee Patrick, Gen X Peter Lynch, Millennial

Anna Seelke, Gen Z

Robin Lively, Boomer Marshall Collier, Gen X

Demetrius Lindo, Millennial

Colette Atsame, Gen Z

PHOTOS BY ANAGHA BHUVANAGIRI, RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS, IAN GLEASON, AND JAMIE LOZADA-MCBRIDE

¿Una llegada acogedora?

Cómo MCPS da la bienvenida a sus estudiantes recién llegados

POR BEATRIZ DA SILVA

El condado de Montgomery alberga cuatro de las ciudades más diversas de Estados Unidos: Germantown, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring y Rockville. De acuerdo con Data USA, el porcentaje de inmigrantes en el condado de Montgomery es 32,2 por ciento, 18,6 por ciento superior al promedio nacional. Sin embargo, no todos los inmigrantes son adultos, muchos son niños. Esto significa que el sistema de escuelas públicas del condado acoge a niños que vienen de diferentes países. La oficina de admisiones e inscripciones internacionales asegura que todos los recién llegados sean ubicados en el grado y escuela apropiados.

La oficina de admisiones e inscripciones internacionales es uno de los departamentos más crucial para familias recién llegadas. No solo inscriben a los niños en el sistema escolar de MCPS, sino también los colocan en la prueba de fluidez en inglés, requerida por el condado para situarlos en el nivel de clases correctas. Además, los especialistas de admisión en la oficina son una de las primeras personas que las familias ven en los Estados Unidos, por lo cual su trabajo también es crear un ambiente positivo para que las familias se sientan cómodas. Norka Padilla, la directora de la oficina, explicó que “La Oficina de Admisiones e Inscripción Internacionales de MCPS inscribe a niños que han estado en el extranjero durante los últimos dos años o más, incluyendo refugiados, inmigrantes, diplomáticos y estadounidenses recién llegados que han estado viviendo fuera de los EE. UU. Reciben ayuda con documentos, estableciendo un correo electrónico, obteniendo aten-

ción médica para sus hijos, conectándose con servicios legales de inmigración, distribución de alimentos y ropa y aprendiendo sobre Montgomery College”. Considerándolo todo, es un lugar muy importante, no solo para las familias, sino para todo el condado. A pesar de la importancia de la oficina, hay muchos problemas de personal, ubicación, accesibilidad, y espacio que siguen sin resolverse.

Esta oficina, localizada en Rocking Horse Road Center, en Rockville, MD, no es muy accesible. Es un edificio muy viejo y no es fácil llegar, dado que no está cerca del metro o líneas

hacerlo mas fácil posible sería muy impactante. Ya han tenido muchas conversaciones con el condado sobre moviendo el departamento hacia un espacio más grande y accesible, pero nada ha pasado hasta ahora.

de autobuses. Padilla explicó que, “las familias [han dicho] que a veces un viaje en taxi hasta [la oficina] o un viaje en Uber puede costar hasta 75 dólares. No hay línea de autobús y caminar desde el Metro toma al menos media hora… Hay carreteras muy transitadas y sería muy difícil hacerlo si tienes niños pequeños o empujando un cochecito”. María Vásquez, estudiante de Blair, habló sobre su proceso para llegar a la oficina de admisiones. Vásquez dijo que “era bastante difícil para llegar, especialmente porque mi hermana no tenía carro y no tenía una licencia, entonces tuvimos que tomar dos buses que nos llevaran allá y era muy lejos. Era muy difícil llegar. Aparte teníamos que caminar un poco también y era durante el tiempo de invierno entonces tuvo mucho frío y hubieron días que también eran días de nieve.” Dado que miles de familias necesitan inscribirse cada año,

Los empleados de la oficina hacen lo mejor que pueden con el espacio que tienen. De acuerdo con Vasquez, “era bastante cómodo porque había un área que era específicamente para niños y había como libros, juguetes, y el espacio era muy grande, entonces era un lugar bastante cómodo”. La comodidad de los recién llegados es una gran prioridad. Padilla explicó, “Nuestro objetivo es crear un ambiente acogedor y seguro para que se establezca la confianza, se formen relaciones y los recién llegados se sientan conectados con su nueva comunidad. Cuando las familias están envueltas en un sentido de pertenencia desde el principio, pueden interactuar con su comunidad escolar y prosperar social y académicamente”.

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La política de Guatemala a través del tiempo

Guatemaltecos exigen respeto a sus decisiones

POR AXEL HENRRIQUEZ Y MARTA VASQUEZ LUCAS

En agosto de 2023, un conflicto entre el gobierno y el pueblo de Guatemala se desató. Después de que el candidato Bernardo Arévalo ganara las segunda vuelta de elecciones presidenciales, la Fiscalía General de Guatemala solicitó que Arevalo no tomara la posición por rumores de fraude en las elecciones. Estas declaraciones ocasionaron que el pueblo de Guatemala se revelara ante el gobierno.

Los motivos son simples y esto se puede encontrar en el preámbulo de la constitución Guatemalteca. En la constitución, se establece que “Guatemala es un Estado libre, independiente y soberano, organizado para garantizar a sus habitantes el goce de sus derechos y de sus libertades”. En cambio, la fiscalía pidió la investigación de las elecciones, lo cual causó inseguridad en la gente. Sin embargo, esto no es algo nuevo para la gente, ya que en el pasado el gobierno ha querido silenciar la voz de los ciudadanos. Para entender mejor el significado debemos divagar en la política de Guatemala.

David Carey Jr. quien ocupa la silla de Doehler de Historia en la Universidad Loyola de Maryland, dice que, “pueden fecharse desde las conquistas de España en el siglo XV, cuando los españoles establecieron sistemas laborales para estar en control encima

de los mayas”. Durante los primeros años de Guatemala hacia la democracia el país fue gobernado por españoles nacidos en Guatemala. Carey explica, “los indígenas no fueron reconocidos como ciudadanos, hasta hoy en día todavía enfrentan discriminación en el país”. En el principio, España estaba en Guatemala simplemente para obtener la riqueza que tenía la región, explica Carey que, “no necesariamente para desarrollar la región”. Como resultado, esto socavó la capacidad de Centroamérica para desarrollarse y estar al mismo nivel que los países como Estados Unidos. Entonces, cuando Centroamérica comenzó a industrializarse, ya estaba unos pasos atrás.

Con los años, se han dado pequeños cambios para mejorar esto, pero aún así sigue afectando al país. Alrededor de 43,75% de la población es indígena, y aun así se ven en una lucha constante para la igualdad hacia los pueblos indígenas. Un evento histórico de Guatemala que ha marcado esto es el conflicto armado interno que ocurrió de 1960 hasta 1996.

Ángel Pichiya estudia Telecomunicaciones en la Universidad de Galileo, Guatemala y el año pasado se postuló para diputado por Chimaltenango. Él comparte el impacto que este conflicto tuvo “ese miedo del poder que tienen en la parte política y en la par-

te social, hace los pueblos indígenas, tuvieran ese miedo de poder alzar la voz en Guatemala, una guerra civil en donde los pueblos del interior, intentaron tomar posesión ante un gobierno ocasionó mucha masacre’’. En la actualidad, después de las elecciones, Pichiya comenta que “ha sido muy complejo, la parte de cómo se ha desarrollado la política, sabiendo que existe mucha corrupción aquí en Guatemala”.

En Guatemala, los años pasados han sido gobernados por presidentes corruptos. Por esa razón, de agosto a diciembre, hubo protestas por 100 días frente al ministerio público, hasta que finalmente pudieron ver a Arévalo tomar el puesto presidencial en enero de este año.

Esmeralda Sajbochol es estudiante de universidad en Guatemala. Durante las protestas del año pasado ella dice que “fue algo muy impactante, porque hubo muchas discusiones, mucha gente estaba a favor y otras en contra”. Las protestas principalmente afectaron a las personas que como ella viajan por diferentes motivos. Para Esmeralda, “en ese momento yo estaba estudiando, entonces se me dificultó porque no había transporte de lo bloqueado que estaban las carreteras”. Esmeralda opina que “no está de más tener expectativas, y se ve que tiene la capacidad y el conocimiento para dirigir un país, y para mi eso es más que suficiente”.

Gran parte de la historia de Guatemala, el gobierno ha existido para beneficio de ciertos grupos, pero esto no significa que Guatemala no tiene nada de bueno, porque eso no sería toda la información. Con más personas en el país tomando nota de lo que está pasando, el país seguramente comenzará a cambiar.

Should the U.S. continue to PRO

BY AMEN LEMIESA AN OPINION

In the 248-year history of U.S. presidential elections, only five presidents were elected whilst losing the popular vote. Despite the rarity of these exceptions, critics claim that the Electoral College is exceptionally undemocratic. In reali ty, the Electoral College ensures that more populous states do not over shadow smaller ones, better voicing the opinion of the United States as a whole.

comprised of 538 electors from all 50 states plus Wash ington, D.C., with each state having a number of elec tors equal to its Congressional representation. This guarantees a minimum of three electors per state, regardless of popu lation size. The bal ance created by the sys tem is crucial in a country as diverse as the U.S., where the concerns of metropolises dif fer vastly from the priorities of farm lands. Without the Electoral College, presidential candidates would likely focus only on urban centers and ne glecting the interests of less populous areas. The system compels presiden tial candidates to build a more politi-

cally and geographically diverse base, reflecting the country’s multifaceted population.

Edmund Ryan, a health teacher at Blair, supports the diversification in campaigning that the Electoral College allows, referencing the definition of a constitutional republic. “The fundamental benefit of the Electoral College is that it provides proportional representation which is the hallmark of a republic. It helps to preserve the rights of people in the minority when it comes to political debates about current issues,” Ryan said.

Likewise, the system safeguards against regionalism. It ensures that the elected president enjoys nationwide support rather than support concentrated in densely populated areas, enhancing legitimacy and national unity. By dispersing political influence, the system encourages a broader dialogue on national issues such as healthcare access, environ

flecting the founders’ intent to balance the direct popular vote with a system respecting the federal nature of the union. The Electoral College is a direct manifestation of this principle, protecting against the tyranny of the majority and ensuring all voices have a say in presidential elections.

Despite its benefits, over 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. However, none of these proposals posed a real threat to its removal. Sarah Croco, a professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, believes that eliminating the Electoral College is out of the question given the Electoral College’s benefactors and the two-thirds majority required to propose an amendment to the constitution and the three-fourth majority required to ratify it. “The way people are distributed, the Electoral College kind of bakes in an advantage for [Republicans]. So if it has to be changed via a constitutional amendment, I don’t see any Republican wanting to go along with it, and so I don’t really see a way for it to change,” Croco said. Given this lack of required support within both the House of Representatives and the Senate for reforming the Electoral College, it is only logical to appreciate its benefits, from equitable representation of states to promoting

II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution establishes the Electoral College, re-

While the debate continues, the Electoral College remains a cornerstone of America’s federal system. It stands not as a relic of the past but as a reminder of the intricate balance between popular will and regional representation, ensuring every voice, from the bustling streets of California to the quiet plains of Wyoming, plays a part in shaping the nation’s future.

use the Electoral College?

CON

BY JAY CLOUSE AN OPINION

Tnot won the popular vote. The system calls into question the one person, one vote and majority rule principles that form the backbone of the U.S. democracy.

The Electoral College was designed to be fair to states with smaller pop ulations, yet it disregards the votes of many in densely populated areas, requires candidates to pander to a narrow slice of the elector ate, and misleads the Amer ican public into believing that their vote di rectly chooses the president.

In 1787, during the Constitutional Convention, the Founding Fathers argued for months over how the nation’s first president would be chosen. The Electoral College was a compromise between those who wanted to see each eligible person’s vote count equally and rural states with small populations of eligible voters (white, male property owners) who wanted more of a voice. The Founding Fathers ultimately chose a system that would significantly benefit less populated states.

on its number of representatives in Congress, which is a combination of the population-based number of members of the House of Representatives plus two Senators per state. This builds in a bias toward states with smaller populations. Wyoming, with a population of under 600,000 people, has three Electoral College votes, or roughly one for every 200,000 people. California, with a population of nearly 40 million, has 54, or about one for every 740,000 people.

In 48 states, all of a state’s Electoral College votes go to the candidate who has won that state’s popular vote. Whether a candidate wins by five or 5 million votes, the outcome is the same.

Currently the candidates spend almost the majority of their time in

Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play,” Trump said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The Electoral College also discourages many people from voting. According to the 2016 general presidential election turnout rates compiled by the U.S. elections project, citizens in swing states could be more likely to vote compared to people in other states. Without engaged citizens, democracy does not work. Americans rightfully feel that their votes do not matter unless they are in a swing state, or are in a state that distributes its votes proportionally. “I would just eliminate the Electoral College altogether, and just do the popular vote,” Renee Patrick, Blair AP Government teacher said. “I also think that if we did that … there’s a good chance that the number of people voting in the United States would increase, because people would feel

versity of America said.

The number of Electoral College votes allocated to each state is based

However, the system still has not changed because many politicians benefit from the Electoral College. President-elect Donald Trump described the Electoral College as a flawed approach until he saw that it worked to his advantage to support it. “I would rather see it, where you went with simple votes. You get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes, and you win,” Trump said in a 2016 interview with CBS. Trump later changed his rhetoric after losing the popular vote. “The

If the U.S. used a popular vote system, candidates would be encouraged to campaign to all states, not just swing states and change their campaign strategies to engage the American people. “If you have a national popular vote winner, one of the things that we might see is candidates actually campaigning in states like New York, California, Texas, or Florida,” White explained.

DAMI KIM

According to Pew Research Center in 2023, 65 percent of U.S. citizens say the Electoral College should be changed to a popular vote system. Democratically appointed leaders are ignoring the majority of U.S. citizens in favor of a system that benefits their reelection strategy. The Electoral College does not serve the large and diverse republic that the U.S. has become. The federal government must remove this antiquated and unpopular voting structure.

POLITICS OF EDUCATION

BY RABIRA DOSHO AND ETHAN DE BRAUW

Over 75 million students attend public school in the U.S., yet their experiences vary by region, state, and county. One commonality exists between every school: educational experiences are shaped by the politics of local school boards.

State governments have the right to determine educational policy, but they leave most of the responsibilities and decision-making to school boards. Local officials have the power to set specific educational policies, while states set broader curricula guidelines for districts to follow.

Meghan Comstock, University of Maryland (UMD) assistant professor of educational policy, explains how the two levels of government work together. “[Curricula] are privately developed and sold privately and different states have different processes for determining which curricula their schools can or cannot use,” she says. “So [state governments have] done some initial review of various curricular products and determined that certain products align with their expectations for high-quality curricula and therefore, they will go on an approved list that districts can select from.”

School boards generally have three main responsibilities: to help plan and approve the annual budget, to set school policies, and to hire and evaluate the superintendent. As elected officials, board members represent the constituents of their districts. As a result, it shares the same highly political attributes of the national political system.

Since the 2022 election cycle, education has become a significant talking point across political discourse. In January 2023, Florida Governor and former presidential candidate Ron Desantis heavily criticized a

leaked draft of the College Board’s AP African American Studies curriculum for pushing “ideological conformity” toward students. Additionally, the Florida State Board of Education said that the proposed curriculum was historically inaccurate and violated state laws regulating how race related topics are taught in classrooms.

College Board, the sole provider for all AP courses and creator of AP African American Studies, made drastic changes to the course’s curriculum in response to Desantis’ criticism. In their formal curriculum release in February 2023, a number of topics were removed from the leaked version revealed in December 2022 such as the queer experience, Black feminism, and discussions on the Black Lives Matter movement.

In many cases, politicians use the narrative that parents are losing their liberty in order to galvanize constituents, typically against teaching history in ways they find offensive. “They’re kind of claiming the banner of ‘parents’ rights’ because who’s gonna be against parents’ rights? But in a very narrow and calculated way, what they’re really trying to do is take over school boards or lower taxes or get voters angry enough to vote for Republicans that they’re choosing,” UMD associate professor of educational policy Campbell Scribner says.

In turn, many conservative politicians have capitalized on the attention to education policies. “If you look right now in, for instance, Florida or Texas, you have conservative politicians who think there’s a lot of political capital in determining what kids are reading or not reading,” Scribner says. “They don’t mind [educational policy] being centralized at all as long as they’re calling the shots.”

Blair junior Tatiana Thiera high-

lights the disadvantages of the AP African American Studies class and similar courses being criticized. “When students get into the real world and go to college, and they’re seeing so much diversity, and their friends, especially minorities, telling them their personal stories of cultures, they’re not going to know about it and they’re not going to have any background information,” Thiera says. “So they could [incorrectly] acknowledge it, they could interpret it their way and be microaggressive.”

In Montgomery County, the school board aims to promote inclusivity and diversity through its policies. “MCPS is committed to trying to do the work to create [a] truly anti-racist school system and a truly inclusive and affirming one,” BOE Member Lynne Harris says in an interview with Silver Chips. In recent years, the MCPS BOE has pushed for initiatives that incorporate diverse curricular content and increase counselor diversity. Their actions have been encouraged by community stakeholders, including the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA).

The MCEA serves as the bargaining agent representing teachers’ interests in MCPS. The union negotiates directly with the county over salaries, wages, benefits, and working conditions, and endorse and support BOE candidates.

In the time approaching school board elections, MCEA hands out pamphlets with teacher endorsements to voters. “Lots of times people come to the polls and they have no idea who to vote for state delegate or school board. When you hand them something that says ‘here’s what the teachers are for,’ that’s helpful,” MCEA treasurer and Blair statistics teacher David Stein says.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many parents interacting more with their children’s education. As a result, a nationwide conservative movement to promote parents’ rights grew in local and national strength as parents started to advocate against educational policies, often deeming them ‘woke.’ “Parents are involved in their children’s education. That’s not something that’s necessarily surprising,” Comstock says. “But it is a fairly kind of orchestrated effort at this point, and builds off of a lot of the other momentum in other conversations regarding education that have been happening.”

Teachers have seen the direct results of these movements in their classrooms and communities. “I think people are more aware. I don’t think most people even knew there was a Board of Education, and I think that COVID made it much more focused,”

Stein says.

In MCPS, one push for parents’ rights took shape in the aftermath of the county’s controversial optout policy which prohibited parents from opting students out of LGBTQ inclusive materials. Parents argued that teaching the materials without an option to opt-out violated their First Amendment religious protections. Regional chapters of Moms for Liberty—a conservative political organization centered around education—played a role in protests. Bethany Mandel, a local Moms for Liberty member, is a plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit against the county for a First Amendment violation in relation to the policy. There are currently two candidates running for the MCPS BOE who are members of Moms for Liberty, one being Mandel.

An embedded cycle of parent coalition uprising has created an environment where teachers are constantly walking on a tightrope, balancing the diverse ideologies and perspectives of parents along with the necessary content students need to learn. “It certainly makes things uncomfortable for teachers when there are angry parents,” Jennifer Martin, MCEA president, says. “I think that there are times of tension between what parents are seeking and what teachers feel is right for kids.”

Governments need to set educational policies, and in every state and school district, it means making political decisions. “[Education] is inherently political, because what we’re talking about are things that are really, really important to a lot of people,” Comstock says. “It’s just kind of how it goes in a democratic system and in the public school system and [in] the way that we have it structured in the U.S.”

GRAPHIC BY RABIRA DOSHO | DATA COURTESY OF PEW RESEARCH CENTER

PHOTO BY IAN GLEASON

CONVERSATION IN EDUCATION Former Superintendent Monifa McKnight discussed with Student Member of the Board Sami Saeed.

Influencing policy

How lobbying becomes legislation

BY SELA COLAVITO AND MAXWELL ERLEBACHER

In 2022, U.S. pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $372 million on federal lobbying to dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill that allows the federal government to negotiate the cost of many prescription drugs. Over 1,600 companies chipped in to influence the government, in order to preserve the pharmaceutical industry’s fluctuating prices.

The lobbying process starts when an interest group wants to further a cause by influencing local or national lawmakers. The group pays a lobbyist, often employed by a lobbying firm, to meet with politicians and communicate the interest group’s policy goals.

Montgomery County is home to many lobbyists who focus on local and national politics and lobby on a wide variety of issues, such as the restaurant industry, technology, and energy. In 2023 alone, organizations in Montgomery County spent over $1 million on lobbyists.

One local registered lobbyist is Mary Kusler, the Senior Director for Advocacy and Political Action at the National Education Association. “In my case, [we represent] teachers and education support professionals before members of Congress who are making rules about their workplace,” Kusler says in an interview with Silver Chips. “If I want to step up and make sure that my elected leaders are doing the right thing on education, I’m gonna go and talk to them about education and tell them to vote one way or the other or tell them what issues need to be handled.”

Lobbying, like voting and political parties, is a linkage institution—it connects and involves the public in legislation. Lobbyists like Kusler help politicians better learn about public opinion from interest groups that would otherwise have little voice in legislation. Rebecca Stelzner, Blair Social Studies teacher and former lobbyist for Autism Speaks, an organization that advocates for the rights of parents with autis-

tic children, explains the importance of lobbying to American Democracy. “Because legislators are expected to know and understand a wide variety of different topics, they can’t possibly know and understand the ins and outs of all of those topics,” she says. “So lobbying can be really helpful to them to know what the community is thinking about … and to know and understand what those topics are.”

DAMI KIM

GRAPHIC BY MAXWELL ERLEBACHER | DATA COURTESY OF OPEN SECRETS

Despite its value to democracy, lobbying, whether local or national, is a controversial political practice. “Lobbying can … be detrimental because some groups are going to have a greater access to lobbying than other groups,” Stelzner explains. “That means … It’s typically very well funded groups that are going to be able to get that access and that prohibits other less well funded groups or issue areas from accessing the legislators.”

In the 2010 case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that money was a form of free speech, thereby limiting the federal government’s authority to regu-

late and mitigate inequalities in the lobbying process. “Because money is speech, according to the Supreme court, we can’t restrict that in the political sense,” Andrea LaRue, a Managing Partner at the lobbying firm New Visions Group (NVG), says in an interview with Silver Chips. “The criticism is this sense that some people can get parental treatment by the federal government because they have more access and privilege.” Unequal funding for lobbying skews the amount of influence some groups, like the pharmaceutical, fossil fuel, or insurance industries, have over Congress. “When you look at the corporate tax breaks and the tax cuts that are given to the most well off corporations and individuals in this country at the expense of working families, it becomes very clear who’s got the money and influence,” Kusler says.

Though it may continue to receive criticism, lobbying will remain fundamental to the American political system. “I … say we built the system, it’s got some pluses and minuses, and let’s make it work for the most number of people,” LaRue says.

A look into the 2024 presidential election

BY AMEN LEMIESA AND DIEGO SANTORO-VELEZ

Before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, the Democratic and Republican conventions will nominate President Joe Biden and a Republican contender. An Emerson College poll from Feb. 13–14, asked respondents who they would elect in the 2024 Presidential Election. The poll determined that former President Donald Trump had marginally more support by around five points. Numerous polls have also determined that Biden lags behind Trump in five key swing states he flipped from the former president in 2020—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Despite split support for the candidates, in a three-day New Hampshire poll between Jan. 22–24, 67 percent of Americans reported that they were “tired of seeing the same candidates in presidential elections and want someone new.” Karol David, an associate professor at the University of Maryland Department of Government and Politics, attributed the poll to various factors. “Biden’s approval rating is very low. Trump has been a polarizing figure throughout his political career. So that’s not surprising that people say this rematch is not right … but Trump is going to be the Republican nominee. And there’s reason for that, and Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee,” David said.

Following the Iowa caucus, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Former Vice President Mike Pence announced that they were leaving the race, leaving Trump and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley as the sole Republican candidates. Trump garnered more than 50,000 votes and a near 30-point win in the Iowa caucus. DeSantis placed second at the Iowa Caucus despite visiting all 99 Iowa counties, receiving the Iowa governor’s support, and investing $53 million into campaigning in the

GRAPHIC BY AMEN LEMIESA | DATA COURTESY OF REUTERS AND IPSOS

state. DeSantis dropped out of the race on Jan. 21, just two days before the New Hampshire primary, and endorsed Trump.

Despite placing third in Iowa, Haley continued to the New Hampshire primary where the demographic of the state was better primed for her support. Haley has held 80 events in the state and has the backing of its popular Republican governor, Chris Sununu. A CNN poll predicted Haley to fall only seven points behind Trump in New Hampshire. However, Trump won the primary with 176,392 votes and 54.3 percent of the vote, becoming the first Republican candidate to win Iowa and New Hampshire since the states became the first two primary elections on the calendar in 1976. Even with South Carolina and other upcoming primaries Haley will likely continue to fall behind. An Emerson College poll on Feb 14. found Haley to be 65 percentage points behind Trump in national polls. South Carolina and other states ahead pose a different challenge to Trump. “It’s also going to be an interesting test to see whether Donald Trump has expanded his coalition, because [in] Iowa and New Hampshire, those

voters are disproportionately white and rural or from a small town,” Josh Boak, a political journalist for the Associated Press, explained. South Carolina’s population is 26.3 percent Black and 66.3 percent resides in urban areas.

Through all of the turmoil in the Republican party, Biden has been unchallenged for the Democratic nomination. The President has changed parts of his election strategy since his 2020 campaign. “What we have seen in recent weeks is that President Biden has started doing things like going to a running store in Emmaus Pennsylvania or stopping by a fast food joint called Cookout in Raleigh, North Carolina. So he’s trying to do these more personal things which we didn’t really see him do in 2020 because of the pandemic,” Boak said.

According to Boak, this year’s voter base is more varied than ever before, a factor he believes will play a major role in the election’s outcome. “Our electorate has never been this diverse, not just in race, but age, education, lifestyle expectations, all of those things really matter,” he said.

From Takoma Park to Capitol Hill

Jamie Raskin’s journey to Congress

BY GRETA ANDELMAN AND SASHA VESENSKY

Day in and day out, United States Congressional Representative for Maryland’s 8th District Jamie Raskin can be found conversing with constituents and attending to lobbyists in his Capitol Hill office. However, before his term as congressman, Raskin was a devoted advocate for student rights.

Raskin grew up in Washington, D.C. where he attended Georgetown Day School and was the Editor-in-Chief of his high school newspaper, The Augur Bit. After graduating, he received his Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard College before continuing to Harvard Law School. He went on to work as a Constitutional Law Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law before deciding to go into politics. Raskin explains that his background in Constitutional Law has informed and influenced his actions and stances as a politician. “I got into politics after teaching Constitutional Law for a long time,” Raskin says in an interview with Silver Chips. “All of my service has really been anchored in the Constitution and civil rights, civil liberties, and political democracy.”

His knowledge in these fields is what first connected him to Blair in 1997 when he defended a group of

Blair Communication Arts Program students who were told they could not air an episode of a student-produced show. “I got a call from some students at Blair high school who [were] part of a TV show … called ‘Shades of Grey,’” he says. The episode contained a debate on marriage equality. Before it was set to be aired, the students received a message from MCPS informing them that the episode would not be shown. “The students were freaked out and the teacher was freaked out, and they said, ‘Can they do this? … Can they just censor it?’” Raskin explains. “So I represented [the students], and we ended up getting the censorship reversed … It was in the newspapers, and it was a big deal that we won this First Amendment victory.”

Afterward, Blair students helped Raskin campaign for Maryland State Senate. “I was running against a 32year incumbent who was the president [pro tempore] of the Maryland Senate, and it was a long shot campaign,” he says. During his campaign, Silver Chips’ writers supported Raskin through the newspaper. “The students at Silver Chips, who had remembered that whole controversy over freedom of speech … wrote an editorial endorsing me,” he says.

PHOTO

MAIA TURPEN

However, the writers received complaints from the incumbent Ida Ruben, who asked for the article to be retracted. This brought attention to Raskin’s campaign, as the students publicized the incident. “She was saying that the students should be suspended … She picked on the wrong students because they went public with it. The Washington Post had a big editorial applauding the students for standing up for their First Amendment rights,” he says.

“I’ve been happy to be able to participate in the struggle to defend constitutional democracy against all of the threats that have been unleashed ever since 2016.”

JAMIE RASKIN

In 2006, Raskin created the Democracy Summer Program to continue involving high school students in politics. “My campaign has basically become the Democracy Summer project, and Democracy Summer is just an effort to get high school and college students to be engaged in Amer-

BY

ican politics,” Raskin says. Blair junior Nikhita Bhatt, who was a democracy summer fellow, explains that it aims to teach students different tactics used in political campaigns. “There’s a local aspect where you work with your local campaign,” she says. “There’s a national portion as well … We did a lot of canvassing.” Additionally, Blair alumnus Paul B. Ellis, the former national director of Democracy Summer and later Raskin’s congressional campaign manager, adds that Democracy Summer helps engage young people in campaign activities and regional politics. “[It] provides really local context to the different people depending on the legislative work of the person they’re trying to elect … [It] gives students a sense of what’s at stake,” he says.

Connecting with students remains important to Raskin. “He’s really willing to listen to young people and hear their thoughts,” Bhatt says. “He would always ask … and try to give us advice.” Additionally, Raskin has big aspirations for members of the program. “I want them to become the next generation of democratic organizers and leaders and officials,” he says.

As an official in the state Senate, Raskin served as the Senate Majority Whip and delivered legislation on marriage equality and gun safety among other issues. After serving in the state Senate for three terms, Raskin campaigned for U.S. Congress. Ellis adds that a strategy of the campaign was presenting the successful legislation that Raskin had passed while in the state Senate. “That first campaign was especially focused on the policy details of what we have already accomplished … We had to talk to more people, cover more ground,

move more quickly, and turn out more votes … it was a scrappy campaign [and] it was a strategic campaign. It was thrilling and exciting every day,” he says. Raskin was elected to Congress in 2016 and is now serving his fourth term.

The work that Raskin does in Congress, however, is different from what he had initially pictured. “I was elected to Congress the same night that Donald Trump was elected president. It was not quite what I bargained for in terms of going to Congress,” he says. “I thought I was going to be able to work on climate change and a lot of electoral reform questions that I’m interested in, but instead, I was just thrust into the defense of constitutional freedom and democracy, and, of course, impeachment.” In 2021,

Raskin was the lead impeachment manager in the second impeachment effort against President Trump. “I’ve been happy to be able to participate in the struggle to defend constitutional democracy against all of the threats that have been unleashed ever since 2016,” he says.

As Raskin continues serving in Congress, constituents believe that he represents members of Maryland’s 8th District who might otherwise be overlooked. “He’s a master of … looking out for people who might not otherwise always be immediately embraced, or might not always feel like they have a place in a group, in the community … and I think that’s a really powerful lesson, to be more mindful of who’s left out of any group then [of] who’s a part of it,” Ellis says. Ellis adds that Raskin’s adherence to democracy and social justice makes him a great politician. “Raskin says … there’s two types of politicians. There’s power politicians and justice politicians, and you want to be a justice politician … I think he’s an excellent example of a justice politician,” he says.

In turn, Raskin’s relationship with his constituents in Takoma Park and Silver Spring is strengthened by his devotion to justice and equality. He believes that the diversity in the community is what makes it unique to him. “We live in an extraordinary multicultural community, with people from all over the world. Not only does that kind of diversity exist, but it’s something that’s very much in the fabric of our daily lives,” Raskin says. “We live in a community where people are serious about educating themselves with the facts of what’s going on in the world.”

PHOTO BY JAMIE LOZADA-MCBRIDE

JAMIE RASKIN Silver Chips Writers speak with the Representative in his congressional office.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADARAH OPACHAN DEMOCRACY SUMMER Jamie Raskin with a group of high school students involved in his summer program.

Numbers speak louder

How public opinion polling shows a changing landscape in U.S. politics

Trust in the government is at an all-time low. As of September 2023, only 16 percent of Americans say they trust the federal government to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time.”

This data, collected by the Pew Research Center over the past 65 years, is part of the comprehensive report titled, “Public Trust in Government: 1958-2023.” An integral aspect of analyzing public trust is the origin of numbers like those displayed in Pew’s report.

Pew is a nonpartisan polling institute that provides data on the views of the U.S. public regarding domestic and international political issues. Senior Survey Advisor at Pew, Scott Keeter says Pew records measure public data to inform others of issues that matter to the people. “[Pew] is commissioned and funded [to] gather independent, accurate information

about the public’s views on politics and policy … Our sole goal is to gather information that is helpful to policymakers and to leaders in organizations and to the informed public,” he says.

Public opinion polling is the process of surveying a group of people deemed representative of the population, called a sample. Public opinion polls estimate public sentiment and are most commonly seen during the electoral cycle when they are used to predict potential election outcomes.

But unlike elections where Americans vote for candidates, not particular issues, polls can ask the public about specific topics. “The only real way [to communicate with leaders] other than through polling, is elections, but that’s not really a great instrument to understand what Americans actually think … because in our system, you’re only really offered two

options, and you may not like either,” Daniel Cox, a pollster at the Survey Center on American Life, says

One of the most critical yet difficult steps of conducting a poll is creating an unbiased, representative sample. Established polling firms like Pew, Gallup, and Quinnipiac University Poll use various strategic measures to obtain the most representative sample. One approach involves using the method of address-based sampling, wherein pollsters randomly select addresses for conducting their polling questions. Before the random selection, pollsters perform stratification—organizing groups of certain addresses based on factors like geographical location—ensuring that different groups of people are adequately represented. Keeter explains how utilizing random sampling and stratification helps minimize natural sampling error. “The U.S. Postal Ser-

GRAPHIC BY EMILY KRETSCHMER | DATA COURTESY OF PEW RESEARCH CENTER TRUST IN GOVERNMENT OVER TIME Americans’ trust in the federal government to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time” decreased to 16 percent as of September 2023.

vice has a national file that [contains a list of] about 97 percent of all of the residential addresses in the United States, and we draw a random sample from that file. We do some sample stratification; we group the addresses by geographies and other characteristics so that when we draw the samples, we can ensure that even random variation doesn’t introduce errors,” he says.

Tim Malloy, a polling analyst at Quinnipiac, explains their survey process in which they make random calls and ask each participant the same questions. Although time-consuming, random sampling is the most accurate data collection method. “Pollsters have scripts they follow [with] questions we make up. The computer calls cell phones randomly all over the country for four or five days … The chances of getting a full call done with one individual answering every question is about one in ten [so it] takes a while,” he says.

Since the adoption of mobile phones in the late 20th and early 21st century made polling more expensive and time-consuming, techniques for calling people randomly have evolved. “Back in the early days of cell phones, we had to pay per minute … and people were hesitant to pick up their cell phones to do a poll … Congress passed a law that you can’t randomly digit dial and cell phone like you can a landline [making] it more expensive,” Washington Post Survey Analyst Emily Guskin says.

Nathaniel Rakich, Senior Editor and Senior Elections Analyst at 538, explains that 538 is not a polling institute but combines data from other organizations’ polls. “[At 538] we are not pollsters ourselves; we are statistically literate reporters … we just collect polling data that other firms do,”

Rakich says.

Rakich adds that this method faces challenges due to evolving communication trends. People have become less likely to pick up their phones in major part due to caller ID, which means that people can see who is calling before they pick up. “People are picking up the phone less and less … [which] makes it harder to get a representative sample,” Rakich says.

Despite difficulties faced by the changing landscape of public opinion polling, pollsters have continued to produce reliable data. “The accuracy of polls has been pretty consistent, despite the challenges that the industry does face with caller ID,” Rakich explains.

This concept of data aggregation made 538 unique at the time of its founding, and the website gained traction for its election forecasts. According to the New York Times, 538 drew nearly 5 million page views in 2008, solidifying its reputation as a leading source for political predictions. Yet in 2016, many Americans were shocked when 538 and other polling organizations incorrectly predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election, prompting widespread discussion and criticism regarding the challenges and uncertainties in political polling. “People did not expect Donald Trump to win the 2016 election. The national polling did suggest that it was going to be a close election, but a number of the polls were wrong by a few percentage points—three or four points—but given that the electorate is very closely divided, that’s enough to make the polls just inaccurate,” Keeter says.

The few percentage points Keeter mentions are the slight variations in poll results—referred to as the margin of error—representing the potential inaccuracy inherent in survey results. Guskin highlights that small percentage points leads in surveys may not be meaningful if the margin of error is considered, especially when the sample size is not substantial. “Oftentimes, you’ll see a headline saying that a candidate is up one percentage point over another one, but unless you’re asking a huge, huge group of people, most of the time, an error margin will mean that a one-point lead is really

not a difference at all,” she says.

Rakich notes the inherent limitations of polls and the importance of considering factors like margin of error. “Polls can never be 100 percent accurate. That’s just not what they’re designed to do. That’s not scientifically and statistically possible. I think people need to learn to use polls as a guide, but not as gospel,” he says.

Even so, polling can have huge impacts, especially in government affairs, exemplified by the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky case. In 1995, then-president Clinton began an extramarital affair with White House intern Lewinsky. When news of the scandal broke, resulting in Clinton’s impeachment trial, polls revealed that despite the public’s disapproval of Clinton’s actions, many Americans believed he had effectively performed his presidential duties and should not resign. Keeter believes that without the polls, Clinton would not have been able to continue his role as president. “I am convinced that those polls saved his presidency, that he would have been forced from office if there had not been an alternative way of judging public opinion and public sentiment at that time,” Keeter says.

According to Pew’s report on public trust in government, out of all U.S. presidents since 1958, the percent of Americans who say they trust the government to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time” increased the most under Clinton, from 25 percent in 1993 to 44 percent in 2001.

Trust in the U.S. government dipped briefly in 1997 to 26 percent, but since 2007, the moving average has not been higher than 24 percent.

As the 2024 presidential election approaches, polls will be increasingly in the spotlight. “[Polling is] one of the few opportunities that leaders have to get a sense of what Americans actually think about certain policies, the preferences they have, [and] the problems they’re facing … Otherwise, there’s not many ways for people to communicate with their leaders,” Cox says.

JOSEPHINE BRUNN LAKE

Soñadores unidos

POR NAILA ROMERO-ALSTON Y DYLAN WARREN

Los inmigrantes han jugado siempre un papel fundamental en el progreso social. En nuestro país contamos con un grupo especialmente valioso y a la vez vulnerable, los llamados dreamers— jóvenes indocumentados que llegaron a los Estados Unidos como menores. Se han criado y educado aquí, y están preparados para hacer grandes aportes, pero su futuro depende de la normalización de su situación migratoria. La Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA por sus siglas en inglés) ha sido una principal esperanza de que dichos jóvenes puedan lograr sus objetivos y ofrecer todo su potencial a las comunidades en las que viven. Sin embargo, debido a la incertidumbre política, la situación de los Dreamers se encuentra cada vez más amenazada.

Greisa Martinez Rosas, directora ejecutiva de United We Dream, nos explica en una entrevista cuál es la situación actual de los dreamers. Esta organización se creó precisamente para defender los derechos de estos jóvenes, y con un millón de miembros, es la organización más grande con jóvenes líderes inmigrantes. Su propósito principal es proteger a este colectivo garantizando el acceso a la educación, evitando las deportaciones, y proporcionando recursos para que los jóvenes inmigrantes puedan desarrollar todo su potencial. A continuación nos ex-

plica su rol en la organización, la meta de United We Dream, y la importancia de los logros conseguidos hasta ahora.

“También tengo la certeza de que hemos ganado juntos, y por todo ello me apasiona tener un lugar donde los jóvenes indocumentados como yo podamos unirnos y podamos ganar. Todo este proceso ha transformado mi vida: ya no tengo miedo.”

GREISA MARTINA ROSAS

¿Cuál es su rol como directora ejecutiva?

Mis responsabilidades son tres: la primera es mantener la dirección y la estrategia de los miembros de United We Dream y que se haga realidad en nuestro trabajo. O sea, asegurarme que la visión, las metas que nuestros miembros tengan se hagan realidad usando los recursos de la organización.

La segunda es recaudar fondos para nuestro trabajo, y la tercera es ser un líder de estrategia para el movimiento estudiantil y movimiento de inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos.

¿Podría explicar qué es un “dreamer”? ¿Qué significa ese término?

Dreamer es una palabra que se ha usado en los últimos 15 años y se re-

fiere a jóvenes indocumentados que han llegado a los Estados Unidos y que “sueñan” con lograr una vida exitosa aquí. También se refiere a veces a jóvenes que tienen DACA o La Acción Deferida. Para nosotros en United We Dream, el término “dreamers” es más amplio. Los dreamers son nuestros padres, las personas que han luchado y tuvieron el sueño de venir a los Estados Unidos para darnos una mejor vida. Tiene por tanto un gran matiz político porque son jóvenes indocumentados, pero sobre todo, son personas que con o sin papeles, tienen derechos y poder social.

¿Qué hace la organización para mejorar los problemas que enfrentan?

United We Dream hace tres cosas claves para avanzar nuestra agenda. La primera es usar los métodos de organización comunitaria. Esto se logra trayendo a jóvenes de estados como Texas, California, Florida, y Nueva York para que creen grupos comunitarios que ejerzan acción política y también los eduquen sobre los derechos que tienen.

La segunda es contar con relaciones políticas en los estados, en las ciudades y en Washington DC para hacernos responsables de la agenda política de las personas indocumentadas y conseguir que sean una prioridad para los gobiernos. Nos encargamos de las relaciones públicas, los medios de comunicación, y todo lo que es necesario para poder dar a conocer no solamente las historias personales, sino también su alcance político.

Y la tercera es ser un instituto de liderazgo para los jóvenes de entre 16 y 30 años, que son los que forman parte del colectivo United We Dream. Es muy importante para nosotros ayudar a que los jóvenes se hagan líderes políticos en sus comunidades, de forma que muchos de nuestros miembros sean piezas clave de la democracia desde los lugares donde viven y actúan.

¿Cuáles han sido los avances más importantes para los dreamers?

En el lado positivo,

el apoyo que hemos conseguido nos ha dado tres victorias cruciales que afectan no solo el pasado, sino también el futuro de las personas inmigrantes en Estados Unidos.

La primera es que al principio, nuestra oposición usaba el concep to de crearnos vergüenza por ser in documentados. Querían que no se lo dijéramos a nadie, que fuéramos in visibles en la comunidad. En este mo mento, somos capaces de decir que no tenemos papeles y no tener miedo. Eso es algo muy poderoso, y cuando lo dices formas parte de una comunidad que se autoprotege. Estamos crecien do en cuanto al número de personas que se suman a nuestro movimiento cada día.

que no solamente somos jóvenes en los autobuses o durmiendo en las iglesias, nos convierte en una organización nacional con 1,2 millones de miembros y no vamos a quedarnos de brazos cruzados.

¿Por qué le apasiona su trabajo en esta organización?

es responsable de la detención y a veces de la muerte de personas indocumentadas que tienen derecho a migrar.

La segunda es que hemos probado que podemos conseguir poder político y crear medidas que mejoren las vidas de las personas indocumentadas en este país. No solamente a través de DACA, sino en aspectos concretos de la vida diaria. Por ejemplo, ahora estoy en Arizona, donde se ha conseguido que las personas indocumentadas puedan ir no solamente a la escuela, sino que también tengan la posibilidad de ir al doctor. En Connecticut, también ha crecido el acceso a los seguros médicos por parte de

Yo soy indocumentada. Sé cómo es tener tanto temor y tanta ansiedad y vivir mi vida en la sombra. Me acuerdo cuánto temor tenía y lo sola que me sentía. También me acuerdo cómo cambió eso cuando conocí a los miembros de United We Dream hace 13 años. Sentí que finalmente podía respirar hondo aunque todo no fuera como yo quisiera. Y aunque a veces tengo miedo, desde ese momento nunca voy a tenerlo sola, voy a contar con una comunidad que sabe cómo se es vivir así. También tengo la certeza de que hemos ganado juntos, y por todo ello me apasiona tener un lugar donde los jóvenes indocumentados como yo podamos unirnos y podamos ganar. Todo este proceso ha transformado mi vida: ya no tengo miedo.

¿Cómo puede ayudar el público con las misiones de United We Dream?

Muy buena pregunta. Yo diría que principalmente pueden hacerlo de dos maneras. La primera sería ayudarnos a decir la verdad sobre lo que está

El segundo aspecto con el que pueden ayudar es uniéndose a nuestra causa para tener más peso político a nivel comunitario. Pueden hacerlo participando en nuestras campañas, ayudándonos a recaudar fondos y a entrar en contacto con otras personas que compartan nuestra visión. Lo que buscamos es que no solamente los jóvenes, sino en general los inmigrantes, sean bienvenidos, y tratados con dignidad.

El futuro de los dreamers no solamente es importante para las comunidades inmigrantes sino para todos. La forma en que tratamos a las personas más necesitadas marca a cada civilización. Mientras el movimiento de los dreamers tiene un enfoque específico, el benefició será para todos cuando no solamente los jóvenes indocumentados, sino también sus padres y cualquier persona inmigrante reciba un trato digno donde no tengan que vivir en temor. La visión de United We Dream incluye a que todos en este país y en este mundo tengan la oportunidad de ser felices con los recursos suficientes para vivir con sus familias sin pavor. Para que la gente pueda vivir en paz y sin miedo, los derechos civiles de las personas deben ser nuestra prioridad.

MARGARITA CONTRERAS

AMAYA Y EVIE ORCUTT

Crossing the pond

BY KEELIN PEGG AND NORA PIERCE

An iconic red telephone box sits outside a relatively nondescript building on Massachusetts Avenue alongside a flag pole with the Union Jack flying high, a signal to the world that it is the British Embassy.

On a Friday in early December, it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas at the British Embassy, with decorations hung all around. A slanted yellow sign hangs above the workplace cafe with the word ‘believe,’ a nod to the TV series “Ted Lasso,” and the room echoes with a mix of British and American accents. Over 400 people work at the Embassy—around half diplomats—with the other half filling a wide variety of roles, yet the atmosphere feels somewhat subdued.

Alongside the British Embassy lies the Ambassador’s Residence—a grand brick manor featuring lavish gardens and marble pillars. The building, completed in 1930, was created by Sir Edwin Lutyens, a British architect known for designing and building the city of New Delhi in India. In addition to serving as the home for Karen Pierce—British Ambassador to the U.S.—the residence hosts everyone from prime ministers to presidents to the royal family.

The buildings and their staff of butlers, politicians, and diplomats, all work to help maintain and devel-

and meetings since its construction in 1930. Nearly 70 years ago, Winston Churchill gave a preview of his famous “Iron Curtain” speech to embassy employees on the steps of the Ambassador’s Residence before traveling by train to Missouri to deliver the iconic address.

In December, the residence hosted David Cameron on his first visit to Washington, D.C. as U.K. Foreign Secretary. The visit was symbolic of the special relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. and reaffirmed support for Ukraine in the country’s war with Russia. Cameron’s trip included meetings with members of Congress and a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in addition to a variety of media appearances.

As communications director and spokesperson for the ambassador, Ed Roman was head of a team responsible for coordinating media and preparing Cameron for interviews. “We were briefing him ahead of going on to Fox News’ prime time evening show with Brett Baier to do a 10

minute interview on immigration, on Ukraine, on British foreign policy priorities,” Roman says in an interview with Silver Chips. “So we’ve got the secretary coming in, we know the team at Fox, we’ve set up the interview, we’re negotiating with the producers on the timings, where the car needs to come to, all the logistics of doing a big broadcast interview.”

Roman served as deputy spokesman for the U.K. Foreign Office in London prior to his current role at the embassy. He has been a career diplomat in the British Foreign Service for the past 15 years, and has held postings in Afghanistan, Greece, Israel, and South Africa. “It’s a fantastic job, and it feels like a real privilege to represent your nation overseas,” Roman says.

Roman’s role at the embassy combines his experience in both communications and diplomacy. “Part of the job here, you’re a communications professional, but you’re also a diplomat,” he says. “Lots of what we do involves cooperating, negotiating, and working in partnership with

SPOKESPERSON FOR THE AMBASSADOR Ed Roman poses in front of a red telephone box outside the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

PHOTOS BY MAIA TURPEN

How the British Embassy forges international relationships

the American government, as well as running a communications operation that you would do in a business or a nonprofit.”

The day after Cameron’s visit, the embassy’s communications staff were already busy working on their next event—a celebration of the 65th anniversary of the beloved British classic, Paddington Bear. On Dec. 11, Pierce and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser read Paddington to students at Dorothy Heights Elementary School and distributed books to children. The celebration continued throughout the week as other diplomats and embassy staff, including Roman, visited 10 Title I schools around Washington, D.C. and distributed books to over 2,500 students in an effort to share British culture. “Through early years’ child development and youth reading, we’re getting another generation of Americans to engage with a British icon,” Roman explains.

The embassy commonly utilizes popular British culture to appeal to American audiences through a concept in international relations known as soft power—the ability to co-opt rather than coerce through appeal and attraction. While countries have hard power in the form of militaries, intelligence agencies, and economic sanctions, soft power can include cultural exchanges to help shape a nation’s image on the world stage. “Soft power is about leveraging your traditions, culture, sport, creativity, in areas that are of interest to Americans,” Roman says. “We’ve got amazing music, we’ve got incredible literature, books, we’ve got fantastic fashion. So, soft power is about how we project those brands, how we get Americans interested in those assets of British society and British culture.”

In addition to promoting reading through classic British children’s books, the embassy also holds events that showcase Britain’s influence across popular culture. This can sometimes mean hosting events that may seem outside the realm of politics and may not appear to have a direct connection to the U.K.—like a party celebrating the Barbie movie.

The embassy hosted a “Barbie” par ty in the gardens of the Ambassador’s Residence in July 2023 with director Greta Gerwig, an event that highlighted the fact that key parts of the movie were filmed in the U.K. Staff, politicians, celebrities, and Pierce donned pink to celebrate the launch of the blockbuster film—highlighting the strength of the British film industry. “You’re using a … cool thing to tell a story about what a great place to invest in Britain is, what an excellent creative industry and film sector it has,” Roman says. “You’re kind of using soft power to land a slightly more traditional economic trade and jobs message.”

Beyond Barbie, Roman and the embassy staff host a multitude of other soft power events, many involving sports. The embassy helps promote the Premier League, the main soccer league in the U.K., and works with the National Football League to expand their reach in the U.K.

The embassy also holds an annual event in the summer called Friendship Day at Nationals Park where— alongside the Washington Nationals

baseball team—they celebrate the partnership between the two nations. They deck the stadium out with British flags and there is a military flyover along with a half-time show full of special events like parachute displays. Last summer, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended the baseball game dressed in a Nationals jacket and posed with Screech the Eagle, the team’s mascot.

Roman explains how the popularity of sports can help carry important messages. “Sport is a very powerful way to speak to people,” Roman says. “Americans are passionate about sport, Brits are passionate about sport … We use sport as a vehicle to talk to people about other things.”

For Roman—and many of the others who work at the embassy—it is the juxtaposition of high stakes diplomacy, Paddington readings, and sporting events that makes the job so special. “The variety of the job is brilliant,” Roman says. “One of the things I like so much about it [is that] there’s no such thing as the average day.”

AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE The manor serves as the residence of ambassador Karen Pierce and hosts many high-profile guests.

Nuevas elecciones, nuevas controversias

Tres elecciones polémicas de América Latina

POR JAMIE LOZADA-MCBRIDE Y NELVI QUIÑONEZ RODRÍGUEZ

El 12 de septiembre de 2023, el candidato presidencial del partido La Libertad Avanza trajo una motosierra a un mitín en La Plata, Argentina. Mientras la gente lo apoyaba, él sacudía la máquina con una sonrisa en su rostro. Su nombre es Javier Milei y es el nuevo presidente del país.

Milei llevó una motosierra a muchos de sus mítines. Usó la motosierra en conjunto con otra retórica inusual (como videos de explosiones, y un anuncio donde destruyó un modelo del banco central) para anunciar sus ideas sobre la economía argentina, que eran el foco de la campaña de Milei.

“Había un cansancio general en la sociedad”, dijo Mariano Fernández, un paraeducador en el programa Magnet de Blair. La economía argentina ha sufrido bastante en los últimos años — tiene un nivel de inflación anual de 160,9%, y el peso argentino se ha devaluado tanto que muchos argentinos tratan de deshacerse del dinero lo más rápido que pueden, comprando comida u otras cosas que no pierden su valor. Mucha gente también usa el dólar estadounidense para comprar cosas en vez del peso argentino.

Fernandéz, quien es argentino, cree que el enojo acerca de eso ayudó a la victoria de Milei. “Javier Milei…supo interpretar el enojo de esa gente, y cuando uno está enojado, se hacen cosas un poco más salvajes, ¿no?”.

Además de su retórica tajante, las políticas que Milei apoya también se pueden calificar como extremas. Para combatir la crisis económica, Milei ha prometido acabar con el banco central de Argentina y reemplazar el peso argentino con el dólar estadounidense. Aunque mucha gente está de acuerdo con Milei, el estilo de su campaña causó mucha controversia. Según Carlos Landau, un profesor de ESOL en Blair, “muchos le compararon a Trump”. Pero mientras “como candidato, era un poco preocupante”, Landau cree que Milei va a ser menos radical como presidente. “Mi impresión es…que se moderó,” dijo Landau. “No se si es tan diferente, pero no se está haciendo…las cosas que hizo en las campañas”.

La historia de Javier Milei puede parecer extraña para los estadounidenses y por buena razón: este país no está acostumbrado a este tipo de campaña. Aunque mucha gente ha

comparado a Milei con el expresidente Trump, la realidad es que Trump nunca tocó una motosierra. Pero los Estados Unidos tampoco está acostumbrado al nivel de inflación que tiene Argentina, y las situaciones graves pueden producir líderes particulares. Para ver otro ejemplo de esto, hay que ir a El Salvador, donde el presidente Nayib Bukele recientemente ganó la reelección con 83% del voto.

Evidentemente, Nayib Bukele ha sido un presidente muy popular. Alcanzó esta popularidad con su guerra contra las pandillas salvadoreñas, que lo convirtió de ser uno de los países más peligrosos de las Américas, en el país más seguro. Esto no es una hipérbole – en 2017, antes de la llegada de Bukele, habían 60 homicidios por cada 100.000 salvadoreños (más que cualquier país en las Américas excepto Venezuela); en 2023, ese número había caído a 2.4 por cada 100.000, según oficiales salvadoreños. Si la cifra de 2023 es cierta, El Salvador tendrá menos homicidios por 100.000 personas que cualquier país en las Américas excepto Canadá.

Para Douglas Jiménez, un profesor

de Estudios latinoamericanos en Blair, esto es una tema personal. “He tenido familiares que han muerto por los pandilleros…y de verdad nunca pensé que ese país iba a cambiar como ha cambiado”. El año pasado, Jiménez viajó a El Salvador por primera vez en más de una década, y el país le parecía “completamente diferente. No se ve nada de pandilleros, no se ve nada de violencia…pero todavía hay muchos problemas”, explica.

El problema más grave es el daño causado al sistema democrático de El Salvador. Al combatir a las pandillas, Bukele también ha derrocado los derechos de los salvadoreños. Por ejemplo, ha arrestado a miles de personas sin el proceso debido, y realizó juicios masivos con hasta 500 acusados a la vez. Esto garantiza que pandilleros sean encarcelados, pero hay el riesgo que la gente inocente también será encarcelada — y en los juicios masivos, los defensores públicos a veces tienen solo cuatro minutos para defender a cientos de acusados, haciendo difícil averiguar que personas realmente son pandilleros y quienes no deben ir a la cárcel. Ni siquiera se necesita la sospecha de ser pandillero para ser arrestado; ahora, los disidentes políticos también están en peligro. La tía del Sr. Jiménez, por ejemplo, fue arrestada porque criticó el gobierno de Bukele.

Mucho de esto es fruto del estado de emergencia que Bukele declaró en El Salvador. Pero hay cosas que el estado de emergencia no puede explicar y lo más profundo es el segundo término de Bukele. La constitución de El Salvador dice que los presidentes solo pueden servir un término, haciendo que la reelección de Bukele sea claramente inconstitucional. Pero eso no perturba al mandatario – sus aliados en el congreso han reemplazado 10 de los 15 jueces en la Corte Suprema de El Salvador, y los nuevos jueces dejaron que Bukele pudiera participar en las elecciones otra vez

si renunciaba a la presidencia por seis meses antes de ser reelegido. De acuerdo con eso, Bukele tomó una excedencia el 1 de diciembre para concentrarse en su campaña de reelección, pero excedencia o no, su reelección todavía contradice a la ley. Bukele no ha rehuido las acusaciones de ser dictador – en su perfil de X (anteriormente llamado Twitter), se llamó a sí mismo el “dictador más cool del mundo mundial” (ahora, su perfil dice “philosopher king”).

Pero tal vez la gente está de acuerdo con esto. Jonathan García, un estudiante salvadoreño de doceavo grado de Blair, no tiene ningún problema con la reelección de Bukele. “Yo opino que está bien”, dijo García. “Que…puede ayudar más a la gente, como lo ha hecho estos cuatro años.” [Los términos presidenciales en El Salvador son cinco años] Muchos están de acuerdo – antes de la elección, Bukele tenía una calificación de aprobación de 92%. Y García no está preocupado respecto a la ilegalidad de las elecciones. “No creo que Bukele sea un dictador. Creo que Bukele está haciendo lo justo para la gente”.

Si el problema de El Salvador es la posibilidad de volver a tener el mismo presidente, Guatemala tenía el problema opuesto. En Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo finalmente fue jurado presidente meses después de ganar la elección presidencial el 20 de agosto de 2023. En su campaña electoral, Arévalo prometió combatir la corrupción en su país, que el grupo Transparencia Internacional clasificó como el país más corrupto de América Latina excepto Honduras, Nicaragua, y Venezuela. Su campaña de anticorrupción resonó con los guatemaltecos, y esto se refleja en los votos; Arévalo obtuvo el 58% de los votos, mientras que Sandra Torres (la otra candidata) solo sacó el 37%. Pero Arévalo casi no fue jurado presidente – el expresidente, Alejandro Giammattei, no quiso dejar su cargo, y muchos otros miembros del gobierno tampoco querían que Arévalo llegara a ser presidente.

Una de ellas fue María Consuelo Porras, la fiscal general de Guatemala. Después de la elección de Arévalo, Porras suspendió el partido político de Arévalo y ordenó el allanamiento del tribunal electoral guatemalteco por supuestas anomalías en las elecciones. Esto causó el enojo de muchos guatemaltecos, que salieron a las calles a manifestarse para exigir la renuncia de Porras y otros que trabajaban con ella. Las manifestaciones eran tan grandes que bloquearon las car-

reteras principales del país, afectando el comercio con Honduras y El Salvador – pero más crucialmente, las manifestaciones también atrajeron la atención internacional. La Unión Europea criticó el gobierno guatemalteco, diciendo en septiembre que la elección de Arévalo era “transparente y bien organizada” y que las acciones de la fiscal Porras constituyeron un “golpe de estado”. La Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) también condenó la situación en Guatemala.

Arévalo asumió el cargo de presidente el 15 de enero. Ya se pueden ver cambios en el país; por ejemplo, las elecciones de gobernadores departamentales ahora ocurren bajo el escrutinio público, en vez de ser elegidos solo por los presidentes, sin la vigilancia de otros. Con más mujeres en el gobierno que en años anteriores, el gobierno de Arévalo también ha sido más inclusivo. Pero nada de esto hubiera sido posible sin las manifestaciones domésticas y la crítica internacional.

Las situaciones graves pueden producir líderes peculiares, que no siempre siguen un patrón determinado. Pueden producir líderes como Javier Milei, que enfrentó la crisis económica de su país con la insensatez de una motosierra, o como Nayib Bukele, que enfrentó la crisis de las pandillas con la brutalidad de un dictador. Pero también se pueden producir líderes como Bernardo Arévalo, que apoya la democracia y el estado de derecho. Arévalo todavía tiene muchos desafíos – Porras todavía es la fiscal general de Guatemala, y todavía puede tomar acción contra Arévalo – pero gracias a él, su país está encaminado hacia un futuro mejor.

JAMIELOZADA-MCBRIDE

In the late 2010s, while users tapped through stories on Snapchat, Amanda Elliot’s shoulder-length blonde hair and bright smile might have popped up on their screens. But, Elliot was not hawking beauty products or giving relationship advice. As the social media manager for the National Rifle Association (NRA), she used social media to advocate for Second Amendment rights.

“[When I worked at] NRA … it was basically to drive a policy agenda, everything we posted was about supporting pro-Second Amendment legislation,” Elliot recounts. “Snapchat was super popular … so we started a Snapchat account. Then it was like ‘how do we translate this into a Snapchat and connect with younger people [to spread our agenda]?’”

Today, while Elliot’s turn in the Snapchat ringlight is over, as the founder of digital marketing agency Anchor City Strategies where she advises campaigns on social media, her foray into the world of politics and social media continues. Elliot is a prime example of how closely intertwined social media and politics have become over the past two decades. In 1997, the first social media site, Six Degrees, was created, sparking an industry of lightning-quick information and communication. By the time the

2008 election rolled around, social media was growing rapidly in its multitude of platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. The Barack Obama campaign first truly took advantage of this. With a social media dream team assembled out of tech giants and savvy interns, Obama’s campaign fundraised effectively and created a vast grassroots movement using these new platforms.

Diana Owen, author of Media Messages in American Presidential Elections and political science professor at Georgetown explains the immense impact of the Obama campaign. “Really, the event that changed the way our media system operates was the 2008 election,” she says. “Not only with Barack Obama utilizing [social media] for his campaign but … social media started to become an important political factor.”

“One of the most disturbing things that I’ve seen grow is that politicians have realized that they can reach the public without journalists.”

JOSH DAVIDSBURG

New media platforms critically changed the relations between politicians and voters. “[Social media] changed the dynamic between … the audience members, the politicians, and the media. The public got to play a more active role. I called it the new media populism at the time,” Owen explains. In more recent years, the effects of these media interactions have become evident. “It was 2016 where we started to see a kind of turn and what issues we could have with social media and politics,” Josh Davidsburg, a documentary and broadcast jour-

nalism senior lecturer at the University of Maryland, explains.

As of January 2023, more than 70 percent of U.S. residents are active social media users, and 84 percent of young adults aged 18 to 29 actively use one social media site. Many users have begun to utilize social media as an alternative news source—another factor that has shifted the political landscape.

As social media platforms are unable to fully regulate all content, the increase of misinformation among platforms has been unprecedented. According to Statistica, 67 percent of Americans have come across fake news on social media. Politicians can use social media to their advantage by targeting their audiences and posting subjective or biased content. “One of the most disturbing things that I’ve seen grow is that politicians have realized that they can reach the public without journalists. There’s no one to cut through the spin and interpret what they’re saying,” Davidsburg says.

As more and more people turn to social media for their news, there is less trust in professional news organizations. “[People] distrust national news,” Owen explains. “But they do trust their friends and neighbors and the people that they’ve met online and who are in their networks. They don’t have a way of countering what comes to them through their net-

Campaigning through a screen

By ABIGAIL GREENBERG AND CHLOE PEGG ART BY DAMI KIM AND ROSALYN FANG

works.”

This phenomenon has led to the rise of political influencers—content creators who endorse candidates, political positions, or causes through social media platforms. “There are these large influencer marketing agencies where, if you are a political campaign, you can just go to them and look at what kind of influencers they have in their roster and then you can book them,” University of Tennessee assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Media and author Martin Ridel explains.

People First—a progressive marketing agency—engages people on social media to talk about different advocacy or issue-based campaigns they care about.

People First’s advocates are not famous influencers but instead have small followings. People First political strategist Nicole Dunger compares it to knocking on a neighbor’s door and talking to them about an issue you care about. “[Micro-influencers] are real people and the likelihood that you know them is much higher than if they’re like a macro-influencer with 100,000 plus followers. So with that, you’re able to make a more of a serious connection with your followers when you’re posting something,” Dunger explains.

It is unlikely for influencers to post claims they actively disagree with. “Our research shows … that there has to be an alignment, ideologically between the influencers, that you have to believe in the campaign and what it stands for,” Ridel says. “We as social media users trust influencers because they are not dependent on brands … if they choose to associate [their] personal brand with something else, great. But they are not going to do that solely at the behest of a political campaign.”

The influencers chosen for political candidates differentiate based on campaign interests and target audience. “It’s similar to traditional political advertising where it depends on who you’re trying to reach. And then

based on that, you develop the messaging and figure out which platforms make sense and who would be good people to tell those messages like to help build that conversation in their communities,” Dunger explains.

Yet, influencer advocacy is not foolproof. Despite the industry’s growth, influencer regulation—especially political influencers—remains a gray area legally. “The question of enforcement is one that no one can answer … and with political influencers, in particular, it’s a tricky question,” Ridel says. “[With advertising] there are strict strict rules about disclosure, but with political speech, because of the First Amendment in the United States, it’s less straightforward.”

According to Dunger, People First aims to be as transparent as possible. For their Tony Evers campaign

political influencers in the future, she also wants more clarity moving forward. “I want more people to be online, talking about these things. But I also know that there does need to be some transparency,” she says.

“[Social media] changed the dynamic between … the audience members, the politicians, and the media.”

DIANA OWEN

On the other side of the aisle, Republicans focus more on direct candidate engagement. “The whole, like influencer culture, definitely skews liberal … While [Democrats] really rely heavily on that like piece of their social media … we still have to rely on the candidates themselves,” Elliot says, citing her work at Anchor City Strategies where she consults with candidates about their campaigns.

for Wisconsin Governor, political influencers openly included that their messages were in collaboration with the Evers campaign. Still, the U.S.’ existing guidelines can be hard to understand and navigate, and there is often no obligation to disclose funds. There are also fears that the discourse of potential guidelines will impact the validity of the influencers’ message.

The Federal Exchange Commission (FEC), the regulatory agency responsible for rules around political advertising, has failed to issue strict disclosure guidelines for influencers. While in 2022, the FEC proposed new rules requiring disclosures when money is paid for political causes, in recent months it appears that these regulations are unlikely to come to fruition as they have mostly been removed from a draft of the final rule released by the FEC. This comes as a devastating blow to researchers, including Riedl, who argue that political constituents on social media have the right to know if and how someone sharing a political position was paid.

While Dunger hopes to see more

As she looks to the future, Elliot believes that political social media will only continue to intensify partisanship. “Social media, it kind of used to be a really good tool to … bring people together and find unity … Now I think in the last couple of years that’s really changed and it’s just very partisan … the cynic in me says this probably is going to get worse with the presidential race going on,” Elliot says.

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Cup winner

2. Light-emitting

3. Nebraska city known for its steaks

4. Nice shirts

5. Camera attachments

6. One making an attempt

7. Explosive Minecraft block

8. Hubbub

9. Regular customers

10. Illegally redraw district lines

12. Homie

14. A patronizing male figure

17. Sets, as a dog on someone

21. “Oh!”

23. Lease out again

25. Electric ocean dweller

26. Questionable

28. Dieter’s concern

29. Droopy-eared hound

30. Designer McCartney

31. 2Pac genre

32. Gene variant

34. Bargain

35. Clothing-gnawing pests

38. Green prefix

40. Tally (up)

DOWN

1. UN laborer protection organization

4. Popular deli sandwich

7. Hoodlum

11. Stemless glass

13. Rudolph’s distinguishing feature

14. Elbow-shaped pasta

15. Guided exploration

16. Taverns

18. Golf target

19. Dobrev of “The Vampire Diaries”

20. How many novels used to be published

22. 1600 is a perfect one

23. In medias ___

24. Gorge

25. Suffix with “employ”

DOWN, CONT.

27. Written defamation

30. 26 across, shortened slangily

31. Star Wars’ Solo

33. Confucian sayings, compiled

35. Not spicy

36. Common contraction

37. “We ___ ______”, as in the Preamble

39. Apollo 13 org.

41. What supporters of a female candidate might chant

42. Scratched (out)

43. Prohibition substance

44. On pension, abbreviated

45. Light touch

46. Worldwide forum for oil and gas pros

All solutions can be found by scanning the QR code to the left.

Word Ladders

From the beginning word, change one letter at a time to reach the end word in the given number of spaces or fewer. Every line must contain a valid English word. Changing a letter switches does not include switching the positions of letters.

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