Maria Pavy– Unfortunately I am not able to vote myself: however, I do know that there is much importance in it and that I have learned a lot through classes like We the People and speakers like Congresswoman Susan Brooks. I was privileged to meet Susan Brooks because of my involvement with We the People, and after talking with her about civic virtue I realized how important it really is.

Being a senior, I know several others that had the opportunity to vote today. It is a privilege and there is no better way to express democracy than through voting. Although I did not have the opportunity myself to vote, I had friends and acquaintances that voted, and seeing that this is their next step in becoming an adult is something interesting.

Seniors are required to take a government and economics class before the end of their senior year, and these are great requirements in my opinion. During this time, some seniors know more about government and the society than some adults do, and this is a good step into the real world.

Voting is one of the many privileges that come with being an adult. Driving, working and having the ability to make independent decisions are part of growing up, but voting is a privilege that represents a student’s active involvement in the government and their voice and opinion on issues are being heard.

Senior Mattheus Mitchell voted for the first time on Nov. 4.

“I didn’t really know where to go because there are different precincts in the area. Luckily there wasn’t a line because its midterm elections and no one really cares about midterm elections, especially in this uber conservative Hamilton County,” Mitchell said. “So I walked in and I said to the people there ‘i don’t really know where to go’. So I showed them my ID because voter ID is the law in Indiana, but luckily they’re super easy to get. Driver’s license, yeah I have one of those.”

Afterwards, Mitchell was proud of voting for the first time and expressed his excitement through social media and he wrote about it so he could remember the moment.

“I got a sticker and I posted a picture of myself on Twitter with the caption something like ‘this is the first of many @barackobama @democraticnationalconvention @republicannationalconvention’,” Mitchell said. “And then I took the sticker and wrote about it in my diary and put the sticker  in my diary.”

Participating in student government and student council can also help students learn more about the government and voting process and it encourages civic virtue.