Gray Collins ’25
A chaotic presidential election. A heavily divided country. Wars in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa. History is happening every day in our fractured world and our nation stands at what seems to be a crossroads between two very different visions of the future. However, inside the gates of 1785 Bishop White Drive, you would barely be able to tell anything at all unusual or significant could possibly be happening beyond our orderly classrooms and manicured fields.
As a proud member of three political clubs (Young Democrats, Independents, and Republicans) and Co-President of my own (Political Solutions), I have attended a total of two meetings all year. From what I can gather from the email lists that I am on, that gives me a near 100% attendance record. In the first meeting, a combined presentation by the leaders of the two main party-affiliated organizations, there were dozens of students and more teachers than I can count on one hand. In an extremely well put together talk, the student leaders talked about the importance of civil dialogue, a sentiment that was echoed by faculty advisors and members of the DEI office. Despite these valiant efforts and the gravity of ongoing world events, the excitement to talk about politics and current affairs now seems to be at an all time low.
In a similar attempt to drive engagement, the Junto Board sent out the debate resolve “The electoral college should remain as-is in the Constitution,” a controversial and hotly contested topic online and in many places around the country. Not EA, apparently. Just weeks before a hugely significant presidential election, the debate during Domino on October 22nd garnered a very small crowd, filling only one room and leaving multiple judges looking for work. The prior month’s debate over a remarkably bland phone policy question had featured triple the number of participants and a whole lot more enthusiasm.
Photo courtesy of iStock
For this issue, Scholium reached out to the political clubs about writing an editorial on their positions regarding their candidate and the election. The leaders largely expressed similar difficulties about writing a piece: not many people responded to club surveys, attendance at meetings was subpar, and the student body seemed mostly apathetic towards the general idea. There also appears to be a hesitancy among the student body to outwardly endorse a particular candidate or viewpoint (understandable in these polarized times). These results, in my determination, reflect not any failures of the outstanding club leaders, but rather a disinterested sentiment that has permeated the school.
There are a couple of reasons that can explain this indifference. First, EA has a pretty rigorous academic environment where studying can take up a good amount of time. Next, for the senior class, the fall is a stressful time filled with supplemental essay writing and college counselor meetings. Seniors also miss out on many activity blocks that could otherwise be used for clubs in order to do grade-wide college counseling meetings that are SUPER productive and loved by EVERYONE. Also, athletes need time to prepare for the approaching EA/Haverford/AIS weekend, in addition to other activities outside of school.
However, these reasons don’t come anywhere close to justifying the current landscape. Apart from the rare AP Gov class discussion or shouting match in the senior lounge, the election and important world events get little air time. In our free time, too often we default to the mindless safety of our algorithms or some other unimportant and unproductive task. People are dying and missiles are flying in Ukraine, Sudan, and all over the Middle East, and nobody bats an eye during the school day. Much of the senior class can vote in the election that will decide everything from the taxes we will pay to the air that we will breathe, but next to no one wants to join a political club.
It is disappointing to see so few people have an interest in the events of our country and world. EA is here to challenge and nurture us to lead lives of purpose, faith, and integrity. The only way we can truly be intellectually challenged or find a higher purpose is by bringing up these political issues and fiercely debating ideas. Our school gives us so many classes, clubs, and activities to allow us to participate in this complicated world. We have come up woefully short.