“Students doing what they can to get involved in politics and general issues that are being faced by the country and the world at large.” That is how junior Simon Grossman defines student political activism.

There are many student political activists who are willing to speak up and make a difference at the high school and beyond. To make a greater difference, students spread their message and get others involved.

One reason Grossman got involved politically was his parents, who met campaigning and are still very involved in what is going on in the country. They have taught him to do the same.

“I’ve always grown up knowing that anyone can stand up and make a difference and organize people to do that, so I think that process of growing up in such a political family has given me a drive to continue that,” Grossman said.

Junior Naomi Mirny said she first became politically active when she would debate political issues with her uncle who works in Washington D.C. She said her uncle fueled her to be informed through reading a range of articles with different biases. After attending protests, she felt as though she should do more.

“I would go to these events and it felt like I was just participating but not being proactive,” Mirny said. “If you speak out about something and you’re generally upset about it occurring or you feel strongly about it, then you should be making stronger efforts to get involved.”

Grossman attended the March for Our Lives in 2017, which was a demonstration for a more stringent gun control in response to school shootings. He thought an important part of this day was work to organize his friends and other people to participate as well.

“I think that everyone needs to do what they can to change the way things are. Because if people see there’s a problem, that problem doesn’t go away until people stand up and try to do something about it,” Grossman said. “So everyone needs to do whatever they can wherever they can to stand up to make a difference.

Sophomore Charlotte Vincent is part of the high school’s student council and legislature, organized the gun control walk out last year, goes to larger political protests, and attended a summer program in Washington D.C. this year that trained women to run for office.

Vincent also thinks it is important to organize political change to make a difference.

“’If I see something in the news I’m unhappy about, I get very upset by that and it makes me actually want to do something. And then by doing something I actually feel like I’m helping make a change, so that’s why I want to actually organize things,” Vincent said.

Mirny was at the Women’s March, the Science March and the Gun Violence Protest, as well as walkouts at the high school. She uses social media as a platform to spread her political messages to her classmates.

“I feel that a lot of young people don’t pay attention to the news, because it doesn’t feel as interesting or at some point, you get desensitized to it and start zoning it out. But through social media, it’s a way to get to my classmates and to young people,” Mirny said.

Mirny believes students should become more politically involved, even though it can be hard.

“It might seem kind of daunting, this whole idea of politics,” Mirny said, “but if you just focus on this one thing that really enrages you or makes you feel very passionately about it, then you’ll be able to go much farther with it then you might think.”