South students react to recent presidential debates
January 8, 2016
As the 2016 Presidential Debates unfurl, South students react to the televised debates between candidates.
The presidential debates have been attracting the attention of a number of Americans. Despite their millions of views across the nation, a non-scientific Oracle–
According to David Kane, AP Government teacher, students most likely avoid watching the debates because they either do not have the time or are not interested in politics. Kane, on the other hand, watches the debates to be knowledgeable about politics.
“I teach [AP Government], so I figure some of my students will watch them and will want to talk about it in class,” Kane said. “I need to be up to speed on what happened at a debate that may have influenced who [did well]. The next reason is, I really enjoy politics.”
As one who does not watch the debates, freshman Anthony Kang expressed his opinion about why he chooses not to.
“I don’t care [because] I can’t vote [right now],” Kang said. “Why learn things that are useless? I understand that being aware of politics and what’s going on is important, but our inability to vote fosters an indifference to the political state of our country.”
Not having the ability to vote being the biggest concern, many underclassman share Kang’s opinion. However, some underclassman disagree with Kang’s exclamation and still choose to watch the debates. According to freshman Sam Weinberg, watching the debates is beneficial but not necessary for students of his age.
Weinberg said, “I just watch them to be informed of the issues and it means a lot to me to keep myself updated about the state of the country that we live in, because who we elect affects everyone here.”
Senior Jake Lee, a student of legal voting age for the upcoming election, enjoys watching the debates and following up with the campaigns of various candidates.
“I want to know who the best republican candidates and democratic candidates [will be for the 2016 election],” Lee said.
According to Terry Jozwik, the head of the Social Studies Department, he believes students should be paying attention to these debates, as everyone will eventually be of voting age.
“I think it is very important for young people to pay attention to these issues, to know what’s going on, and, in the least, try and process and understand these issues because in not to many years [all students] will be voting for the people who will be running this country and [their] voice needs to be heard,” Jozwik said.
