From reproductive rights to public education concerns, there are many topics that each presidential candidate based their campaign on in the 2024 presidential election. Between candidates VP Kamala Harris and previous president, Donald Trump, these issues were vital to their campaigns before American citizens took to the polls to vote for the best candidate.
Being in a swing state—constantly altering between Republican and Democratic in past presidential elections—it is so important that people in Pennsylvania get out and vote. On November 5, 2024, many Norwin senior students got the chance to execute their civic duties by voting for the first time in the presidential election.
Dr. Scott Polen and Mr. Eric Bartels—both well-regarded social studies teachers at Norwin High School—both believe that voting is very important and believe that, when possible, students should proactively use their voices
“It’s important to vote for the obvious reason that it is our opportunity to choose the representatives who we feel can best advocate for our particular needs and wants,” said Mr. Bartels. “With that said, the more people who vote, or the closer we get to 100% participation, the more certain we can be that our elected leaders are chosen by ‘The People.’ Historically young people are among the lowest voter turnout groups in the nation. It is important for their demographic to be vocal and, therefore, influential on candidate actions.”
Dr. Scott Polen, a history teacher at the high school, also believes that voting in local and national elections is vital towards changing our world for the better. In terms of democracy, voting can be considered as indispensable when providing for a better nation and world that we live in.
“For a democracy to function properly, we must choose wisely to whom we are transferring our political power,” said Dr. Polen. “Voting is one aspect of civic participation which also includes being cognizant of issues facing our nation, state, and community, and engaging in civil discourse to resolve these issues. Voting enables one to choose the representative whose ideas best align with their own in order to continue working toward their desired resolution. By making a choice with one’s vote, one is voicing their ideas to shape government.”
The Constitution of the United States also emphasizes the importance of people in a democracy voting for elected officials, because a democracy is known to be “run by the people.” It is also very important to vote for officials who will focus on smaller issues in a community, like public services in individual cities.
“Our Constitution set up a democratic republic so that government authority would be limited to what its citizens desired, and nor any arbitrary decisions by a single individual or small group,” said Mr. Bartels regarding the Constitution’s emphasis on voting. “We fought a revolution so we could have this opportunity. When you forget that, or never learned it in the first place, you’re forfeiting that right. Too many people devaluing that right opens it up to being lost. Monies that are allocated for your streets, parks, schools, and so many other public services are decided by local and county officials. While I don’t discount the importance of the broader national issues, we won’t see them as directly as ones your local leaders are solving.”
Mr. Bartels is also an elected official in charge of making local decisions in Latrobe. Being the mayor of Latrobe, Mr. Bartels constantly makes decisions regarding the well-being of the community around him. According to Mr. Bartels, it is also very important for young voters to verify information from various candidates, to make sure that their needs are being met if they are elected to office.
“It is hard for young (and old) to filter the truth,” said Mr. Bartels. “You have to find multiple sources to make sure the quick headline or video that came from your reels and scrolling are accurate. Always be willing to verify information from a source independent of the first one you learned from, trying to determine whether it is fact or spin. Many candidates will claim completely opposite things are true, and they could both be right in their information. Also, read/listen to the candidate’s own words. What they say, not what their opponents say about them. For local elections it’s much easier — you can show up to a county commissioners meeting, school board meeting, council meeting, or even boards like zoning or your water/sewage authority. You can talk to these people face to face because they are easily accessible to live in your community, speaking or asking questions at their meetings! They are prone to much greater accountability and open to input by their neighbors more so than national level leaders with millions or hundreds of thousands of constituents seem to be.”
Harris and Trump have differing opinions on a lot of different social and economic issues, with both candidates advocating for different ideals. With all of these different ideologies, it is important that voters educate themselves before they head to the polls.
On the evening of November 5, after several swing states turned red—including North Carolina and Pennsylvania—Donald Trump was declared the President of the United States with a total of 312 electoral college votes in comparison to Harris’s 226 electoral college votes. However, the election was not decided right away. It took the whole night to figure out who would be the next President of the United States.
In a recent poll conducted Dr. Polen’s history classes and Mrs. Hawley’s AP Government and Politics classes, as well as other classes throughout the high school, the majority of students opinions were gathered about the presidential and local elections in a mock-election poll. A majority of the students voted for Trump in the mock-election poll and a large majority of the results ended in a majority of Republican results.
Norwin Mock Election Poll Results (Nov. 2024)
A number of students at Norwin High School were disappointed and elated with the results of the presidential election, because of women’s rights issues and climate change problems that would possibly arise as a result.
“The fact that Americans would elect a convicted felon and alleged rapist over a qualified woman is depressing and quite honestly disgusting,” said an anonymous Norwin High School student. “It is a clear sign that, despite what many may claim, women are not equal to men in this country. In my opinion, Harris was by far the most qualified candidate out of the two, and it is horrific that a man who has done so much harm and clearly does not care about the people has been elected once again.”
Additionally, many other students felt as though they did not have a say in the election—since a wide majority of students at Norwin were not yet eligible enough to vote. As a result of living in a suburban area, some Norwin students were worried about the possibility of higher taxes for the middle and working classes, that would occur as a result of Trump’s alleged policies.
“As someone who couldn’t vote I didn’t do much research into policies,” said an anonymous student. “However I would say the economy, and specifically taxes for the middle class and working class. I’ve heard a lot of people say while voting, people are too focused on character and should focus more on policies, but the second we forget character and deem it unimportant is a day that I can’t be proud of my own country. Who our leader is, and what he or she says is how we are viewed by other countries, and how other countries see our morals.”
Furthermore, while some Norwin students felt as though they did not have a voice in the election, because of their young age, many students were very passionate about voting or bolstering a candidate’s image.
“For women’s rights, I had hoped that the candidate that won would fight for women’s rights to choose and the right to control what happens to their own body,” said an anonymous Norwin student in regard to Trump’s alleged policies. “Because we live in a swing state, I am aware that any election could reverse the progress that Pennsylvania has made for women’s rights. I had hoped that the people would elect a president who cared about American women and could work to protect them, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Finally, climate change is becoming a more pressing issue every day and it must be addressed now. I had again hoped that a candidate who cared about the environment and preserving a world for future generations would be elected.”
Also, some students at Norwin were heavily influenced by social media usage, due to the wide amount of influence that the candidates placed on young voters during the election. However, with the plethora of information on social media, also comes the question of whether or not this information is accurate or adequately displays the candidate in question.
“I think the main thing that influenced my opinions on the candidates was social media,” said a Norwin student. “Everything I saw when I was on social media shaped my opinion of the candidates. I think that social media mainly only decreased my view of the candidates.”
On the other hand, numerous Norwin students felt as if Donald Trump was the candidate that America needed, in order to “fix” the economic state of the United States. Additionally, students at Norwin were concerned with the economy—hoping that Trump would lower taxes and prevent heavy immigration into the United States.
“I was happy over the election because knowing from how Donald Trump’s first term went, I knew he was just what we needed to fix our economy,” said an anonymous student at the high school. ”Unemployment reached its lowest in a half-century, Median Household income reached its highest level ever, he eradicated the ISIS Caliphate, he made America the #1 producer of oils and natural gases, and he started no new wars. The list could go on. Even though he is not the most perfect human being, he was the president America needed.”
Additionally, some students at Norwin backed up Trump’s policies and candidacy because he will attempt to remove transgender men in women’s sports and the military.
“I am not against the LGBTQ+, but I am against having it shoved down my throat and people thinking that it is ok for a fully grown man to be coming into private areas for women,” said a Norwin student. “There is no way a biological male should be allowed into women’s restrooms, sports, dressing rooms, etc. No woman, little girl, or teenager my age, wants a man watching us change or go to the restroom. There are men out there who will sadly take advantage of the “I’m transgender” statement to go and harm us women and girls. It’s the same way back for grown women taking advantage of saying, “I’m a man” and going to harm young boys. It is very unfair too for a biological male to be competing in women’s sports. Us women earned those competition categories to play sports fairly and not against males who are known to be physically stronger than us. Having males play in women’s categories takes away the purpose of them being specifically women’s categories.”
Despite the wide variety of opinions by Norwin students, many American citizens felt as if their opinions were not heard in the election results.
Trump’s second term certainly will bring about a new era in American politics and students at Norwin High will continue to feel its impact years later.
