December Issue III

4
news
Photos courtesy of Elise Kait‘21 and Hana Ahanger ‘21
Graphics and design by Hana Ahanger‘21
The political anatomy of
baldwin’s student body
How Students are Processing the Results of the Presidential Election
By ANNA WETZEL ‘22
Common ground is
difficult to find
on barren soil.
In a country
rife with division and
founded on principles
of exclusion and false
superiority, is it even
possible to bridge
the ideological dichotomies
that define
our intensely
polarized two-party
system? More
specifically, how
do Baldwin students
navigate the
complexities of
these political divisions
within our
community?
ELISE KAIT ‘21
The average
Baldwin Upper
School student
rates their political
involvement a 6.6 on a scale of
1 (least involved) to 10 (most involved).
Representatives of both the Young
Republicans and Democrats club described
student political engagement as varied and
highly individual.
While some students participate in
rallies and protests, Young Democrats Junior
Head Ryan Murphy ‘22 said, “most
turn to social media to project their political
views and to advocate for what they
believe in.”
However, Young Democrats Senior
Head Hana Ahanger ‘20 warned students
of the danger of “unconstructive” social
media posts.
According to Ahanger, “an unconstructive
post does not add to preexisting
knowledge, is a false claim, or incites
violence [physical and otherwise].”
Political oversimplification
and misinformation through social
media contribute to intense polarization,
a reality students experience
on multiple levels. Nearly a
quarter of students do not feel that
they can get along with individuals
who hold different political views
from their own, an obvious symptom
of contemporary political polarization.
Furthermore, 13.6% of students
do not feel comfortable sharing
their political views with peers.
“I’ve had people come to me
in confidence and tell me, ‘I don’t
feel comfortable sharing things –I
just keep my mouth shut all the
time– because I’m scared of what
people are going to say and how
they’re going to react,’” Elise
Kait ‘21 said.
Kait proposes that
political
education
would
remedy this inter-student
division.
“A lot of people tend to affiliate themselves
with a party (or a label) without actually
any basis for that opinion.”
Given Kait’s assessment of student
political literacy, further incorporation of
current events and government policy into
academic curricula would create a more
tolerant, informed, and open-minded student
body.
Representatives of Young Democrats
share this objective, emphasizing the importance
of vulnerable and brave dialogue
between students of differing political
affiliations. Both Young Democrats and
Young Republicans expect that Baldwin
will continue to facilitate discussion spaces,
but recognize that the responsibility is
on students to maintain a receptive attitude.
“These spaces are for discourse and
for opinions to develop; there’s no set
opinion you have to bring. It’s really easy
to hate a person because a view they hold
contradicts your beliefs, rather than hating
the idea itself,” Ahanger said.
Ahanger hopes that facilitating discussions
with Young Republicans will
change this mindset and create personal
and communal growth opportunities.
Echoing this sentiment, Kait added to
Ahanger’s statement, saying that “working
against each other is not going to get us
anywhere.”
Addressing our
student body’s political divisions
would be incomplete without
acknowledging our fellow
students who
are forced
to navigate
the
political implications
of minority racial, ethnic, religious,
sexual, and gender identity.
Many students are acutely aware
of the disproportionate effects of
the election on marginalized communities.
“This election was and is
life-changing; life-changing for
everyone but more specifically minorities,
the LGBTQIA+ community,
women’s rights, trans rights, etc.
There was so much at risk, it felt
like the results of the election determined
the rights of the majority
of the U.S. population,” Murphy
said.
BIPOC and LGBTQIA+
members of our community carry
the emotional weight of this reality,
and they need our support, both
interpersonal and systemic. While
the election results may have only
affected 50% of the student body’s
mental health, it is important to
consider the privilege of remaining “unaffected”
by such a monumental presidential
election.
It’s the responsibility of students and
faculty in positions of privilege to recognize
the disparate experiences of marginalized
students and create equitable and
sustainable systems of support.
Three-quarters of students report satisfaction
with the support they received
from administration and faculty regarding
the election. However, it should be noted
that systems of oppression create dynamics
in which some students understandably require
more support than others. Addressing
this disparity should be of utmost importance
to Baldwin’s administration.
Regardless of who is elected to the
White House, systems of oppression and
violence still threaten the safety and
mental health of students unprotected
by societal privileges. While appreciative
of Baldwin’s informative
pre-election panels, students
need radical socio-emotional
support in the wake of an incredibly
stressful political
period.
“As the children
of this country, it
feels like we’ve had
to take on a much
more adult and
engaged role
in the nation.
[Post-election],
it
feels like,
for once,
we can lay it to rest, for
now,” Ahanger said.
For the first time in a long time, many
students are allowing themselves the privilege
of socio-political optimism.
HANA AHANGER ‘21