As Proposition Learn, a 48 cent tax levy, becomes more visible in the public eye, it is important that we as members of this district form an educated opinion on the tax levy that will appear on the April 3 ballot. It is important that we do this with all legislation, but it is especially important that we vote on this matter. It’s easy to see legislation that will appear on ballots and groan about how we hate it, or rave about how we love it or speculate about how it will or won’t pass. It’s easy to complain about the state of our school, or our community or our nation. What we really need to do instead of complain, though, is vote and take action. If we don’t, how can we expect change?

If you’ve taken Government, you’ve learned that it’s important to vote. Whether you’ve taken that to heart or not, voting is imperative to our nation, our state and our community, but a lot of people don’t vote. With approximately 44,000 households in the district, only about 8,600 of those homes have at least one registered voter. We should not join the non-voters. We should be excited about earning our right to vote when we turn 18, and until then we should still make our opinions, concerns and voices heard. The deadline to register for this upcoming election, March 7, is approaching quickly, and if you’re eligible, you deserve to be a part of the voting process. If you are yet to turn 18 and can’t vote, you should rally for others to vote in favor of us, the next generation.

Our school has a lot of issues that can be fixed. For example, our building is falling apart. It’s old, it’s worn and it needs more substantial repairs than the hodgepodge ones we all see during the school year. Instead of complaining about how the roofs are leaky, or how the classrooms have mold in them, we should vote for something like Prop Learn, to get our building in working order. This principle extends beyond our school and district, though. If you like or disagree with a politician, you vote to keep them in office or vote for someone new and better. We can’t assume the result we want will come from others voting for us. We must take it upon ourselves to create change.

Whether we’re voting for Proposition Learn, for a local election, for a presidential election, they all should be equally important to us as citizens, albeit young ones. We should take it upon ourselves to educate ourselves and those around us on what legislation we’re voting for and how it could impact our community, both positively and negatively. Even though we are young, and even though one person’s vote seems miniscule in the spectrum of things, we need to be aware of the real influence we have over the changes made in our community.

In our December issue, we encouraged you to use your voice, and voting is no different. Whether you love Proposition Learn or you disagree with it, you should take it upon yourself to cast your vote this spring, or encourage voters you know to vote if you cannot. Beyond that, we should vote in any and all elections. It’s our duty as members of this school, this district, this city, this state and this country.