By Jules Moskowitz ’17

If you’re anything like me, you probably don’t know much about the upcoming election. Although West Essex is filled with students who are strongly opinionated regarding the election, others couldn’t tell the difference between the Democratic and Republican candidates. I know that I don’t, and I’m OK admitting it out loud. But I’m certainly not alone.

Some students avoid having opinions about the election simply because it’s too controversial. Whether your family is always ranting about the latest debate, or you keep seeing polls on Facebook, it is clear how opinionated America is about the election. Some students simply ignore the issue in order to steer clear of all the controversy.

“I just don’t care about the election…there are too many other things going on,” senior AJ Tomaselli said.

Like Tomaselli, many students disregard the fact the election is happening. Since we are constantly being flooded with academics, work, sports, activities, and many students admit that the election is the last thing on their minds.

Another reason why students tend to avoid the topic is due to the fact that many high schoolers aren’t eligible to vote. “The high school setting uninterests students, just because most of us are not old enough to vote,” senior Lucas Brendal said. Seniors and some juniors are the only West Essex students able to vote, so the issue may seem irrelevant to 9th and 10th graders.

Interestingly enough, some students feel as if a majority of the running candidates are capable of successfully running America. “I think most of the candidates are qualified and will do a good job,” junior Joe Barretti said. This goes to show that some students lack interest in the election because they are fairly confident in most of the contenders. They feel as if any candidate elected has the potential to successfully run our country.

On the other hand, some people don’t care for the complete opposite reason.

“I think that none of the candidates are capable of being a good president,” junior Steven Lucero said. “I’ve just given up on following the election.” Students may be having a hard time siding with a candidate which makes them disregard presidential issues.

“As a freshman, I haven’t really paid much attention to the election, as I get older I’m sure I’ll care more, but as of now, it doesn’t pertain to me,” said freshman Quinn DelehantyYounger students tend to feel as if the election isn’t really important right now; especially due to their age.

Due to many reasons, some students could not care less about the election coming up in November. For example, maybe it is because students’ parents are not politcally involved, so they don’t think they need to be. Although many people may believe that everyone should know what’s going on with politics and side with a candidate, students find a spectrum of reasons to not focus on the election, but rather the other thousand things that are running through our hectic minds.