there are three infamous topics that
you’re not supposed to talk about at the
dinner table sex politics and religion
being the Defiant rabble rouser of us
and that I am I’m going to speak about
one of these forbidden subjects politics
buckle your seatbelts some people love
our political process some people hate
it and some people are so disinterested
that they think the electoral college is
some type of graduate school up in
Massachusetts as I’m sure you’ve all
noticed our current political climate is
contentious to say the least it seems as
if every time I check my phone there’s
about 10 CNN notifications regarding
some crazy phenomenon occurring on
Capitol Hill
we have half the country donning red
make America great again hats with the
other half sporting pink pussycat
beanies actually slightly more than half
if we’re acknowledging that final
majority vote as far as my involvement
in politics goes if you’d asked me two
years ago if I were a liberal or a
conservative I probably would have given
you a different answer each time you
asked because I honestly had no clue
what either label meant however as this
unique campaign and election unfolded I
found it impossible to stay uninvolved
it was pretty easy for me to pick a
candidate when it came down to choosing
one I’m a young latina female and a
granddaughter of two Mexican immigrants
I’ll let you figure out which candidate
I supported I was emotional when those
election results came in the whole
country was whether you were wearing red
or blue it was a dramatic couple of days
I’m a senior here at San Dieguito
Academy and those 10 sentiments were
just as evident amongst teenagers here
too the term teenager is often
associated with shallowness immaturity
and unawareness adolescence opinions are
often disregarded under the
justification that they’re too young to
know what they’re talking about I mean
we can’t vote right how much could we
possibly know or care about our
government
what impact could a bunch of miners have
on our political spectrum it turns out
that when teenagers are given the proper
guidance and education to form developed
political ideologies they can have a
significant impact here’s what proved
that to me as I mentioned earlier at the
2016 election results left me feeling
disheartened and frightened for the
future this was exacerbated by the fact
that I wasn’t old enough to vote I felt
powerless and insignificant
I couldn’t participate in this process
all I could do was sit back and watch
the events unfold around me or so I
thought
I found that many of my peers shared
similar emotions we were struggling to
find a way to have our opinions
recognized and respected the manner in
which I tried to achieve this political
acknowledgement was controversial some
of you might feel uncomfortable or
disapproving and you might want to start
tuning me out however I encourage you to
stay with me and listen to the end I
along with two of my peers planned a
school-wide walk out to protest Donald
Trump two days after he was elected I’ll
spare you all the details of the nuts
and bolts that went into planning such
an event an initiative that chaotically
you played out in less than 12 hours but
here’s just a bit I was absolutely
terrified
in every moment of every juncture of the
planning execution and aftermath I was
terrified for a number of reasons first
I was scared that nobody would show up
and that this proposed walkout would
amount to no more than half a dozen of
us meandering around outside pitifully
trying to make a political statement
then ironically I was scared by the
magnitude of people who said they would
show up because we quickly received word
that there were community members and
students from other schools such as LCC
who were planning on attending I was
scared that this would be seen as a ploy
to attract attention or one of those
stereotypical teenage acts of defiance
we received a slew of negative
respectful and flat-out offensive
comments via social media and I was
scared that it would turn violent most
of all I was scared that we would not be
taken seriously because we were just
adolescents ok so that was a lot of
angst and negativity I also just happen
to be an extremely nervous and panicky
person in general so that did not help
the situation but that aside the walkout
was a huge success
by all accounts mine protesters counter
protesters teachers school
administration even non-participants it
exceeded all of our expectations
although if I’m being candid we really
didn’t know what to expect at 1 o’clock
we silently filed out of our classrooms
and gathered in the area right outside
this building and once we got there we
simply talked I and the two other
organizers invited students one by one
to stand before the crowd and just talk
about how they were feeling why they
died why they decided to participate
this wasn’t solely protestors either
counter protesters spoke as well and we
created a dialogue where students were
listening to the opposing viewpoints and
viewing things from a different
perspective
protestors expressed their fears for the
rest of minorities counter protesters
expressed their will for Less division
everybody listened acknowledged and
respected the voices of everybody
regardless of if they agreed or
disagreed because it was peaceful
it was unifying it was enlightening you
guys realized that this is something
that many adults in our society in our
government are unable to accomplish our
walkout was covered by several local
newspapers we had students coming up to
us days after the event to tell us that
they were so glad that they participated
both students who had supported the idea
from the beginning and students who had
vehemently opposed it initially our
principal Bjorn page actually wrote an
editorial in a local newspaper to oppose
the community critics of the event and
express how pleased and proud he was of
how the walkout was executed ok so the
point of this speech isn’t to convince
you that you should love or hate the
walkout or that you should agree or
disagree with a certain political
affiliation the factor that I
to focus on is this conglomeration of
teenagers who used their political
voices that day most of us couldn’t vote
our brains are technically still
undeveloped sometimes we do dumb things
like the cinnamon challenge or the Kylie
Jenner lip challenge but look at what
teens were able to accomplish that day
these kids were politically
knowledgeable they were informed and
educated enough to make well supported
opinions for themselves they were mature
enough to view things from a different
perspective and see issues in a
different angle that kind of
appreciation and insight regarding the
touchy subject that is politics stems
directly from guidance from you all from
our parents our teachers and our mentors
the way in which you view discuss and
participate in politics directly affects
how we grow to view discuss and
participate in politics it’s akin to
when your child was a toddler and they
were first beginning to explore talking
and you all of a sudden began to hear
them repeating the words and phrases
that you tended to use this is often met
with growth pride and fear that same
process occurs in our political
socialization
I’ll explain with the few examples I
can’t tell you how many times I’ve come
across a peer who claims to be a
Democrat or conserve or a Republican but
when asked why it’s solely because their
parents are Democrats or Republicans and
they’re choosing to identify themselves
the same way without having any real
knowledge about either party there are
so many teenagers who simply don’t care
about politics and it’s because their
parents don’t pay attention to that
stuff this kind of blind following any
self-motivated research is so dangerous
to both individuals and society but I
think this walkout is a prime example of
how adults can foster teens political
ideologies in the right way now I know
what you’re thinking you’re saying to
yourself my team doesn’t listen to
anything I tell them they don’t want to
hear me preach about political
engagement but trust me there are ways
in which you parents can
slighly educate and inform your child
even small things can have a big impact
tune into the televised political
proceedings every once in a while
watch the debates together or the press
conferences or the Senate hearings talk
about the way that our government
functions the different positions the
different viewpoints when your ballot
arrives in the mail look over the
measures and the props together as a
family talk about the pros and cons of
voting one way versus the other
it can even be as simple as visiting
historical museums where we can learn
about the foundation of our government
and the different people values and
events that made it what it is today
generate thought generate questions
generate interest that alone will help
encourage teens to be much more invested
in our political system teachers also
play a huge role in our political
socialization personally I know that my
own political beliefs are derived from
the notes that I took in AP US history
class or the AP English language essays
that I wrote or the American government
class discussions that I partake in now
that isn’t to say that my teachers are
standing in front of the whiteboard
yelling Trump is a deplorable or Hillary
for prison rather teachers can show us
the importance of developing a well
supported opinion they can provide
forums for effective discussion they can
teach us about how to be participants in
our political system and not just
observance making politics less of a
detached foreign concept and more of a
familiar and comfortable process will in
turn make for more active and educated
voters in the future because remember
kids don’t stay kids forever a lot of us
high schoolers will be voting in those
next 2018 midterm elections so that
brings me to my final point why is it so
important for teens to be politically
knowledgeable according to a poll
conducted by the Center for in Center
for information and research on civic
engagement of the eligible voters
between the ages of 18 and 29 only half
of them voted in this past 2016 election
isn’t that crazy
you we live in a country where we are
fortunate enough to enjoy the privilege
of participating in this democratic
system and yet half of the eligible
millennial voters chose to ignore that
privilege this disengagement would be
drastically improved if there is a
stronger push for teenagers to be more
politically educated aware and active so
let’s circle back to that initial
question what impact can minors have on
our political system well walk outs like
the one I mentioned here at SDA occurred
all across the country there was a
nationwide wave of teenagers who may not
have been old enough to vote but still
held very real opinions and investment
in our governments we even made Donald
Trump’s Twitter page never underestimate
what a mishmash group of educated
passionate teenagers are capable of
never underestimate the impact that you
adults have on us kids and thus the
impact that we can have on the world
thank you [Applause]
you’re not supposed to talk about at the
dinner table sex politics and religion
being the Defiant rabble rouser of us
and that I am I’m going to speak about
one of these forbidden subjects politics
buckle your seatbelts some people love
our political process some people hate
it and some people are so disinterested
that they think the electoral college is
some type of graduate school up in
Massachusetts as I’m sure you’ve all
noticed our current political climate is
contentious to say the least it seems as
if every time I check my phone there’s
about 10 CNN notifications regarding
some crazy phenomenon occurring on
Capitol Hill
we have half the country donning red
make America great again hats with the
other half sporting pink pussycat
beanies actually slightly more than half
if we’re acknowledging that final
majority vote as far as my involvement
in politics goes if you’d asked me two
years ago if I were a liberal or a
conservative I probably would have given
you a different answer each time you
asked because I honestly had no clue
what either label meant however as this
unique campaign and election unfolded I
found it impossible to stay uninvolved
it was pretty easy for me to pick a
candidate when it came down to choosing
one I’m a young latina female and a
granddaughter of two Mexican immigrants
I’ll let you figure out which candidate
I supported I was emotional when those
election results came in the whole
country was whether you were wearing red
or blue it was a dramatic couple of days
I’m a senior here at San Dieguito
Academy and those 10 sentiments were
just as evident amongst teenagers here
too the term teenager is often
associated with shallowness immaturity
and unawareness adolescence opinions are
often disregarded under the
justification that they’re too young to
know what they’re talking about I mean
we can’t vote right how much could we
possibly know or care about our
government
what impact could a bunch of miners have
on our political spectrum it turns out
that when teenagers are given the proper
guidance and education to form developed
political ideologies they can have a
significant impact here’s what proved
that to me as I mentioned earlier at the
2016 election results left me feeling
disheartened and frightened for the
future this was exacerbated by the fact
that I wasn’t old enough to vote I felt
powerless and insignificant
I couldn’t participate in this process
all I could do was sit back and watch
the events unfold around me or so I
thought
I found that many of my peers shared
similar emotions we were struggling to
find a way to have our opinions
recognized and respected the manner in
which I tried to achieve this political
acknowledgement was controversial some
of you might feel uncomfortable or
disapproving and you might want to start
tuning me out however I encourage you to
stay with me and listen to the end I
along with two of my peers planned a
school-wide walk out to protest Donald
Trump two days after he was elected I’ll
spare you all the details of the nuts
and bolts that went into planning such
an event an initiative that chaotically
you played out in less than 12 hours but
here’s just a bit I was absolutely
terrified
in every moment of every juncture of the
planning execution and aftermath I was
terrified for a number of reasons first
I was scared that nobody would show up
and that this proposed walkout would
amount to no more than half a dozen of
us meandering around outside pitifully
trying to make a political statement
then ironically I was scared by the
magnitude of people who said they would
show up because we quickly received word
that there were community members and
students from other schools such as LCC
who were planning on attending I was
scared that this would be seen as a ploy
to attract attention or one of those
stereotypical teenage acts of defiance
we received a slew of negative
respectful and flat-out offensive
comments via social media and I was
scared that it would turn violent most
of all I was scared that we would not be
taken seriously because we were just
adolescents ok so that was a lot of
angst and negativity I also just happen
to be an extremely nervous and panicky
person in general so that did not help
the situation but that aside the walkout
was a huge success
by all accounts mine protesters counter
protesters teachers school
administration even non-participants it
exceeded all of our expectations
although if I’m being candid we really
didn’t know what to expect at 1 o’clock
we silently filed out of our classrooms
and gathered in the area right outside
this building and once we got there we
simply talked I and the two other
organizers invited students one by one
to stand before the crowd and just talk
about how they were feeling why they
died why they decided to participate
this wasn’t solely protestors either
counter protesters spoke as well and we
created a dialogue where students were
listening to the opposing viewpoints and
viewing things from a different
perspective
protestors expressed their fears for the
rest of minorities counter protesters
expressed their will for Less division
everybody listened acknowledged and
respected the voices of everybody
regardless of if they agreed or
disagreed because it was peaceful
it was unifying it was enlightening you
guys realized that this is something
that many adults in our society in our
government are unable to accomplish our
walkout was covered by several local
newspapers we had students coming up to
us days after the event to tell us that
they were so glad that they participated
both students who had supported the idea
from the beginning and students who had
vehemently opposed it initially our
principal Bjorn page actually wrote an
editorial in a local newspaper to oppose
the community critics of the event and
express how pleased and proud he was of
how the walkout was executed ok so the
point of this speech isn’t to convince
you that you should love or hate the
walkout or that you should agree or
disagree with a certain political
affiliation the factor that I
to focus on is this conglomeration of
teenagers who used their political
voices that day most of us couldn’t vote
our brains are technically still
undeveloped sometimes we do dumb things
like the cinnamon challenge or the Kylie
Jenner lip challenge but look at what
teens were able to accomplish that day
these kids were politically
knowledgeable they were informed and
educated enough to make well supported
opinions for themselves they were mature
enough to view things from a different
perspective and see issues in a
different angle that kind of
appreciation and insight regarding the
touchy subject that is politics stems
directly from guidance from you all from
our parents our teachers and our mentors
the way in which you view discuss and
participate in politics directly affects
how we grow to view discuss and
participate in politics it’s akin to
when your child was a toddler and they
were first beginning to explore talking
and you all of a sudden began to hear
them repeating the words and phrases
that you tended to use this is often met
with growth pride and fear that same
process occurs in our political
socialization
I’ll explain with the few examples I
can’t tell you how many times I’ve come
across a peer who claims to be a
Democrat or conserve or a Republican but
when asked why it’s solely because their
parents are Democrats or Republicans and
they’re choosing to identify themselves
the same way without having any real
knowledge about either party there are
so many teenagers who simply don’t care
about politics and it’s because their
parents don’t pay attention to that
stuff this kind of blind following any
self-motivated research is so dangerous
to both individuals and society but I
think this walkout is a prime example of
how adults can foster teens political
ideologies in the right way now I know
what you’re thinking you’re saying to
yourself my team doesn’t listen to
anything I tell them they don’t want to
hear me preach about political
engagement but trust me there are ways
in which you parents can
slighly educate and inform your child
even small things can have a big impact
tune into the televised political
proceedings every once in a while
watch the debates together or the press
conferences or the Senate hearings talk
about the way that our government
functions the different positions the
different viewpoints when your ballot
arrives in the mail look over the
measures and the props together as a
family talk about the pros and cons of
voting one way versus the other
it can even be as simple as visiting
historical museums where we can learn
about the foundation of our government
and the different people values and
events that made it what it is today
generate thought generate questions
generate interest that alone will help
encourage teens to be much more invested
in our political system teachers also
play a huge role in our political
socialization personally I know that my
own political beliefs are derived from
the notes that I took in AP US history
class or the AP English language essays
that I wrote or the American government
class discussions that I partake in now
that isn’t to say that my teachers are
standing in front of the whiteboard
yelling Trump is a deplorable or Hillary
for prison rather teachers can show us
the importance of developing a well
supported opinion they can provide
forums for effective discussion they can
teach us about how to be participants in
our political system and not just
observance making politics less of a
detached foreign concept and more of a
familiar and comfortable process will in
turn make for more active and educated
voters in the future because remember
kids don’t stay kids forever a lot of us
high schoolers will be voting in those
next 2018 midterm elections so that
brings me to my final point why is it so
important for teens to be politically
knowledgeable according to a poll
conducted by the Center for in Center
for information and research on civic
engagement of the eligible voters
between the ages of 18 and 29 only half
of them voted in this past 2016 election
isn’t that crazy
you we live in a country where we are
fortunate enough to enjoy the privilege
of participating in this democratic
system and yet half of the eligible
millennial voters chose to ignore that
privilege this disengagement would be
drastically improved if there is a
stronger push for teenagers to be more
politically educated aware and active so
let’s circle back to that initial
question what impact can minors have on
our political system well walk outs like
the one I mentioned here at SDA occurred
all across the country there was a
nationwide wave of teenagers who may not
have been old enough to vote but still
held very real opinions and investment
in our governments we even made Donald
Trump’s Twitter page never underestimate
what a mishmash group of educated
passionate teenagers are capable of
never underestimate the impact that you
adults have on us kids and thus the
impact that we can have on the world
thank you [Applause]
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