All anyone can talk about is the impending presidential election. Some students at BSM have been eager to participate in political conversations and harness their developing political voice.

Junior Elizabeth Kupchella is no stranger to the world of politics. Though she’s been interested in politics since a young age, it wasn’t until recently that she really found her place as an activist in a political scope. Kupchella interned at Women Winning, a group whose goal is to advocate to have more women elected into office. “It was really a wake-up call for me because this [group] is definitely something that’s out there that I can take part in and really want to stay involved in,” Kupchella said.

For students who are interested in politics but don’t know how to get involved, Kupchella recommends finding out what aspects you are interested in and using your strengths and running with it. “I really love especially the justice and advocacy part of it, [that’s] something you see a lot in political spaces. That merging of activism and politics [is what] I am best at,” Kupchella said.

Senior Preston Becker became interested in politics through discussing key issues with his fifth grade teacher to practice explaining his beliefs. “It’s an excuse to argue with people, you don’t get enough of those [opportunities] in this life,” said Becker.

Becker is a firm believer that you don’t need to pursue a career in politics to get involved. Becker recommends that those who want to learn about politics should start with more broad topics that are key to the fundamentals of government. “Start understanding human nature and the classics,” said Becker.

To Sophomore Gabriel Bauer, the anticipation is one of the most intriguing aspects of politics, and he stresses that it’s easier than you think to get informed. He started off doing basic research on policies and candidates’ platforms. “Wikipedia is a good place to start,” said Bauer. His political views are shaped by ideas of the future. “We are the future of America; we are going to [make] the important policy decisions in twenty years, so we have to know how to solve problems now to know as much as possible in the future,” said Bauer.

Senior Frankie Gormley’s interest in politics was sparked in his morality class with Mr. Becker during his junior year at BSM. Since that class, politics have become very important to Gormley. The face that interests him most is the diversity of opinions. “[It’s interesting] when people have different ideas of how to get to the same place, but they’re so totally on opposite sides,” said Gormley. For Gormley, attending a rally was a great way to get more involved in politics. Frankie Gormley equates his emotions at the rally for Bernie Sanders to the excitement of a little kid. “I feel like there are things we need to change in this country, and I feel like I could do something like that,” said Gormley.

Despite their differences, What all four of these students agree on is that you’re never too young to get informed and start to care about politics. “politics shape the future of our country, it would be nice to make sure it has a positive future instead of a negative one and if I can make a small change it’s worth all the effort and pain and suffering that goes into it.” said Becker.