To promote student voting, especially in the primaries, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL 9th District) and staffers from Sen. Laura Fine (D-IL 9th District) and Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz’s (D-IL 17th District) office came to South to present, and students watched Sonya Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court Justices, speak on the importance of civic engagementm among the youth.

The primaries give people the opportunity to choose who gets to be on the presidential ballots, junior Saavan Shah said. If people only vote in November, they may be caged into choosing between the candidates they do not support, Shah said. In order to learn more about what to expect during voting, Civics and AP Government teachers wanted the students to meet government officials for an interactive learning experience, History Teacher Tara Tate said.

While presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump do not face a competitive election in the Illinois primaries, Reps. Chuy Garcia (D-IL 4th District), Danny Davis (D-IL 7th District), and Mike Bost (R-IL 12th District) face challenges from their opponents, AP News reported. In order to learn more about the primaries and its candidates, Shah signed up to be a student election judge. While training, Shah realized the importance of being educated in the voting process before falling into conspiracies.

“A lot of people have fears about voting being rigged, but my [election judge] training showed me otherwise,” Shah said. “There is so much attention to detail and every action is so specific in making sure there are no mistakes.”

Before her presentation at South, Schakowsky voted on the TikTok bill, which forces TikToks parent company ByteDance to either sell the company to a U.S. based company, or have the app banned in the U.S., The New York Times said.

While she voted against the bill, she believes social media should be reigned in to contain harmful effects it may have on young children. If students are concerned about the TikTok ban or other issues, Schakowsky encourages them to make their voices heard.

“If you are involved and concerned [about something], you don’t have to wait for [an invitation to speak],” Schakowsky said. “This is your generation. [The only way] you can shape the world [is if] you are an activist.”

In  the November presidential elections, Schakowsky     urges all registered voters to participate. Because the contrasts between the presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden are so extreme, the results could be very significant for people’s future, she explained.

“I believe this is the most important election in our lifetime,” Schakowsky said. “[Do not] waste the opportunity to make a decision about what you think our country should look like. The information is all there. The names are really easy to remember. Just go out and vote.”