Most of TL’s 2016 senior class will be able to vote by November of next year. The question though is not whether they can but whether they will vote. More than half of Terra Linda’s 2016 senior class will be 18 by November, but about 17% say they don’t plan to vote. According to The Voice’s recent survey, those who won’t be voting say it’s because they are “unsure”, “undocumented”, or “not informed enough.”

When asked which party they identified with most, many students said the Democratic party. Almost an equal amount of students identified as either Republican or Independent, and very few were undecided. When asked why they choose to identify with a specific party, many students chose the option “because my parents identify that way,” or simply, “my parents do.”

While most students’ social and political beliefs are shaped by their parents, as the next voting generation, perhaps we have a responsibility to start thinking for ourselves. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, for example, appeals to the students at Terra Linda and the younger generation in general because his campaign targets youth. His proposal for free public college education has caught the attention of students worldwide, especially seniors who are filling out their college applications and are possibly restricted due to the daunting costs of college tuitions. According to the survey, Sanders is very popular with the TL seniors, simply because they don’t like Hillary Clinton, one of the other Democratic candidates.

Several students decided that they would rather vote for Jeb Bush for president, on the Republican side, because the only other choice presented on the survey was the oh-so-famous Donald Trump. One student even said “grudgingly :(” with an arrow pointing towards Bush’s name and another just circled Bush’s name and wrote, “dumbass,” with arrows pointed all around Trump’s name.

A pattern that seemed to be trending among all TL seniors surveyed was an overall lack of passion for the candidates, and basing their choice primarily on who they dislike the least. By the time November 2016 rolls around and it is time for our current seniors to vote, let’s hope that they are well-prepared to play a part in choosing the 45th president of the United States.