On Tuesday, February 23, Political Club met for the first time in the second semester. During their meeting, the group discussed both the economic and vaccine-related sides of Biden’s Covid-19 plan. (Photo courtesy of Lauren Taylor)
The Political Club connects once every three weeks over Google Meet. During these meetings, students of different backgrounds and viewpoints have the opportunity to share their opinions on the world around them.
Leading the Political Club is Mr. Moran. He recently acquired this role from former club leader Mr. Bacon after an unofficial version of the club formed, consisting of students from Moran’s fourth-period, first-semester class.
“I did not start off this year with the goal of setting up a Political Club,” said Moran via email. “Instead it was something that just developed organically in my 4th period American History class during the fall semester. I had several students who were vocal about issues we were studying in the course, and those conversations would often turn towards current political events. It got to the point where we would have 20 or so students stay once a week during our asynchronous time to discuss a political topic.”
As the semester came to a close, Moran’s students were interested in continuing their civil discourse outside of class, and in a more official manner. With this idea in mind, Moran asked around to see if a similar club already existed.
“I found out that Mr. Bacon had been heading up the Political Club, but many of the members were graduating early and he was not sure it would continue,” wrote Moran. “I told him I already had a bit of a core group of students interested and he was happy to hand over the club to us.”
Being in the Political Club, Moran has the chance to see students not only discuss important issues but also learn how to be more socially aware and open-minded citizens.
“I feel that students gain a lot of transferable skills in political club, mainly the ability to construct an argument,” said Moran. “When you are in front of a group and expressing your thoughts about a political issue you really need to be prepared to back up your views. This allows for the students to deeply examine their political views and this self-reflection is a wonderful exercise for every American. Secondly, I believe students gain some knowledge about different perspectives. We all tend to hang with our same ‘tribe,’ read the same tribal newspaper, listen to the same tribal news, visit the same tribal internet spaces. Political Club allows students of different political backgrounds to meet and have a civil discussion.”
Students also find that they gain important experience from participating in Political Club discussions, and that the club gives them a place to stay informed and open their minds to different perspectives.
“Politics is important and this is a good way to stay informed on the issues and really expand your viewpoints and interact with different ideologies,” said Noah Derucher, a sophomore at Leesville Road High School.
Derucher is a member of the political club going back to Moran’s after class discussions, a member of the sophomore executive council, and eventually plans on going into politics when he becomes an adult. “Politics is a passion of mine, and this is a respectful forum to debate and discuss political differences.”
If you are interested in joining the LRHS Political Club, click here for a link to their Google Classroom. There you can find their meet link, information about discussion subjects, and updates on the meeting dates and times.
Hi! My name is Lauren! I’m President of the LRHS book club. Outside of school I’m a curler for Team Taylor and I like to rollerblade.