Everyday, we hear more and more about the upcoming 2024 Presidential election. It’s going to be a highly contested election and a momentous moment in modern American history. But I want to know how this race will affect Palisade High School as well as how PHS will affect the race for presidency itself.
The election will likely be between the incumbent Democratic President, Joe Biden. On the other hand, a copious amount of names have been thrown in for the Republican nomination. The biggest of all being former President Donald Trump, shortly followed by the Governor of Florida, Ron Desantis. Others include former Vice President, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, and a few more minor politicians hoping to beat out the big names. Now where do Palisade Students come into this election?
Well first let’s talk about how this election will affect our school. One of the biggest issues on the table is Education. We saw recently in Florida, Ron Desantis’ home state, there have been large banning of books and curriculums, including AP psychology and AP African American studies. Depending on the outcome, similar drastic changes could be seen in our very own school. On top of this, we live in what is considered a battleground district, Colorado’s third district, which was a conservative win in the 2020 election, but we are on a tipping edge, as seen in the 2022 elections. This itself will be incredibly interesting to see play out in 2024.
Finally, how can we participate in this election? Some of us, including all of our current Seniors and some of our Juniors, should be 18 by November 2024. Voting is crucial and everyone that can absolutely should. Now if you’re below 18 when November rolls around next year, the best way to get involved is to volunteer your time. You can help run polls when they open up in your community, contact your elected officials, tell them what you want to see happen in your country and community. If you are really dedicated, you can even go door to door registering people to vote and educating them on the importance of it.
Even though these huge politics feel so far away from our little High School, they aren’t far at all. We are the battleground these politicians fight over, but we also have the ability to sway these huge battles and make a difference. So do it!
