My Extracurricular Activity. Katie Ritchie. by Katie

My Extracurricular Activity. Katie Ritchie. by Katie - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

If I was given the opportunity to create a new extracurricular activity for my school, I would establish a politics club. Sure, schools have debate club, choir, band, sports, etc. Why don't we have the opportunity to learn about politics? When we, students, are enrolled in High School our opinions are shaped by other people, but why? Because we don't have an opportunity to learn more in depth about the real-world issues at hand. If students were given the opportunity to learn about Republicans, Democrats, Independents, political topics, etc. we would have a better knowledge when we graduate and can suddenly vote. We will no longer be "voting blindly." Moreover, if young voters aren't "voting blindly," then we aren't voting at all! "A recently released poll from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Atlantic conducted in June showed only 28 percent of young adults ages 18 to 29 say they are “absolutely certain” they’ll vote in midterms," (Vox). This shows that the vast majority of young voters are not voting! Causes are: being uninformed, being disinterested, etc. Through an extracurricular early on in high school we could make politics, voting, staying active, etc. fun for the youth of America again!
I know a lot of people would look at a politics club and easily dismiss it, but with passionate people like me advocating it we could give the students motivation. With the statistics of previous voting polls versus today's voting polls, young voters are slowly dwindling. Without having knowledge of what we are voting for, young people will not want to vote. Without giving young people a reason to be interested in politics, our voting numbers will continue to decline. We, together, need to help people realize that voting effects their lives, and that what they are voting for effects everyone, including themselves. With a club for this in high school people will be introduced to politics early on, which will give them a reason to stay active later on. What will happen in thirty to forty years when we are the 50 to 60 year old population and we still aren't voting. If we aren't voting, then why would our kids want to. The less we vote now the less voting we will have overall in the future.