Nicholas Christos ’20: Many EA faculty and staff members fondly remember the first time they voted. Scholium recently asked several to share their experiences.
Cassandra Keith, Upper School Librarian at the Annenberg Library and long time Episcopal Academy faculty member clearly recalls her first experience as a voter in 1972, “It was Nixon and McGovern and it was not looking good for McGovern, who was my candidate of choice. I was feeling quite depressed of what was eventually was going to happen. That evening I went to bed at seven o’clock because I did not want to hear any of the reports,” she shared.
Robert Trumbull, teacher in the US History Department, as well as Frances McLaughlin, MS Learning Specialist, also cast their ballots for the first time in the 1972 Nixon vs. McGovern election. “The first time I voted was in 1972, just after they made eighteen year olds able to vote so it was very exciting. I voted in Massachusetts and I was one of the few voters who voted for George McGovern. But it was a very exciting time and I have not missed voting in an election since,” Trumbull said.
Similarly, McLaughlin commented, “I was completely excited, thrilled to be able to vote. I remember how we had to go to the County Seat to register and I registered as soon as I turned eighteen and I have never, ever missed a vote, it’s a great privilege and I love doing it every time.”
Furthermore, when Rachael Nichols, P.h.D., a member of the US English Department, was asked about her first experience voting she said, “For president? Oh jeez. Alright. I was nervous; it felt like a big deal. It was a very exciting election, that was when Ralph Nader was running. I thought a lot about whether I should be voting based on practical matters like who would most likely win, or whether I should vote my conscious about who I most believed in. I remember going to hear the different candidates speak and enjoy watching the debates. So I was pretty into it. But it was also the kind of thing where once you voted in that kind of election people…there was a lot of animosity based on how you voted. So that was something that was also stressful.”
Lisa Fox, MS Administrative Assistant, vividly remembered her first time voting. It was 1984, and the contest was between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. She describes it as a “special” bonding experience with her father, who took her to the polls. “I had gone with him before when he voted and had watched my parents vote; they would let me vote in the booth. This time my father and I went together but I went into the booths alone. We made it a special day, we went out and got something to eat for dinner. But it was just that excitement that a great honor was on me that day to make a choice.”
On his first time, Blair Bendler, technology services coordinator, said, “It was 1996, Ross Perot, Bob Doll, and Bill Clinton and I voted for Ross Perot.” As Blair said this, Albert Zug, MS Chaplain, paced by and exclaimed “ I voted for Perot too!” Blair continued with, “Yeah. It was my first election and I was super politically motivated so I decided to cast my vote for something different than our standard two parties and it turned out to be a mistake,” he said laughingly. When asked if he was nervous he said, “No not at all.”
Just as Episcopal faculty and staff once cast their vote for the first time, so will some Episcopal students this year. The Trump vs. Clinton election will be the first for many seniors. Sydney Donaldson ‘17 said, “I am actually really excited. My birthday is November 6th, which is just two days before the election, so I am very happy to make the cut off. I think this is definitely an interesting year for the election, so I am excited to be able to be a part of it and it got me more interested in politics overall, knowing that I am able to now participate in the election instead of just being a bystander.”