It’s been a week since the world stood in shock over the election results. Tension has been high, and emotions have been deep. We all knew without a doubt Hillary Clinton would win, how couldn’t she? Donald Trump is racist, homophobic, xenophobic and sexist among many things, yet he is our president now. Regardless of the results, we have something of which we are to be proud. Teens were more involved in the Elections this year although many couldn’t vote. “I didn’t always like politics, in fact, I was one of those people who tried their best not to get involved because it seemed so angry, messy, and full of people just trying to show off how smart they are,” says Iffah, “My parents never really discussed it over dinner either. It’s ironic now that I’m so into it, but I can’t help not being involved because I can’t help but care so much about what’s going on. My friends did get more involved, though I’m 90% sure it was because Trump became too popular to ignore”
Teens now have easier access to politics, with publications such as Teen Vogue and Affinity Magazine giving coverage on the elections for teens, it has inspired many teens to go out and get involved. “This year I was more involved, but I think that was because I was able to vote this year. I also really loved Bernie once I heard his policies and who he was. That made me more interested, but I had an actual candidate to support.” Many teens went above and beyond and participated in their community, “My friends and I volunteered together a lot, with a Hillary location just a few blocks from me and a NextGen climate office downtown, I was much more motivated to participate” says Maya.
Very early on Bernie Sanders stole all of our hearts with free education, fighting for a living wage and gender equality. He was a dream come true to many teens, the ideal candidate. Ultimately, he didn’t make it farther than the primaries; we all wept together as Uncle Sanders was out of the race. Bernie left a big impact on teens, from Bernie memes to Feel The Bern shirts, he was definitely a favorite amongst young people.
Many teens favored Bernie, but once it came down to Hillary vs. Trump, it became harder, “Bernie got me involved. After Bernie dropped out, friends my age started to drop out of following politics. After Hillary Clinton announced she was running, I started following politics again and got excited about the possibility of a female president” says Nick. I ran a poll on Twitter through my magazine asking teens to vote on who should be the next president over 18,000+ voted. Of course 85% said Hillary Clinton. Ultimately the USA did choose Donald Trump, but really, Donald Trump was the reason why many teens decided it was time to get involved, “A lot of people who are usually uninterested in politics and current events became interested in this election,” says Areej, “In my opinion, it was because it was so sensationalized especially because of Trump; you don’t have to be well versed in politics to know that what he’s saying is crazy.”
The magic of teen involvement in this past political election has been inspiring, those same teens who got involved even though they weren’t eligible to vote yet will be the teens voting in our next elections. They will be the next teens shaping this country.
