The series “We Create the Culture We Want,” named after the mantra, highlights certain aspects of our culture at BHS. This installment explores how students consider politics in their relationships.
A point of excitement, stress and fulfillment for every high school student is making friends. For some, the relationships they build will last a lifetime. As teenagers, these friendships are bound to be messy, especially when politics come into play.
Of the 165 students who responded to a Canvas survey conducted by The Cypress, over 68 percent of respondents said that their friend groups speak about politics to some degree. When asked how strongly they consider politics when making friends, over half scored themselves a five out of 10 or higher. These responses show a significant political consciousness for a demographic that, for the most part, cannot vote.
The extent to which people considered politics when making friends varied widely, as did whether they thought their political views had an important place in a school setting.
Forming an opinion
Students are exposed to politics through their phones, social media, trusted news outlets, or, as many of the students interviewed noted, their relationships.
When asked how often politics is discussed in their homes, over 22 percent of respondents scored themselves an eight, followed by 20.1 percent who scored themselves a 10.
Junior Max Chechelnitsky said his family and friends help to form his political perspective.
“I don’t think I would have the same beliefs I do now if I had grown up in a different household,” Chechenitsky said. “I think a lot of my political beliefs have been shaped by interactions with other people.”
Sophomore Lara Spitz Sousa said relationships have a substantial impact on her political opinion.
“The environment you grow up in [can impact your views]. The friends that you choose to hang out with, even if you’re not consciously thinking about politics and morals, impact your opinion,” Spitz Sousa said.
Forming relationships
Junior Ori Levy, who moderately considers political views in her relationships, said that the criteria for making friendships change as you grow up.
“I think some friendships, especially if you make them when you’re young, are not based on political [beliefs] or your differences,” Levy said. “But I think as you get older, you tend to surround yourself with people that you somewhat agree with morally and politically.”
Freshman Ella Zubov said she considers how much people care about politics more than their particular views.
“I don’t want to be friends with someone who’s going to try to convince me to change my views. But I don’t really care if their views are different from mine,” Zubov said.
According to Zubov, having friends of different political beliefs is important.
“[Having friends with different beliefs] just widens your circle. It doesn’t keep you in one closed environment,” Zubov said.
To Spitz Sousa, specific political stances are friendship deal breakers; for example, while she does not base friendships on opinions such as the best economic system, she said she does value perspectives on discrimination.
“[It’s a dealbreaker] if that political belief is a reflection of what I consider to be moral corruption, so that would be the hatred or lack of care for a specific group of people, as opposed to all people equally being cared for,” Spitz Sousa said. “For example, I would 100 percent end the friendship with someone who supported ICE raids.”
Morality vs. politics
Like Spitz Sousa, many of the students who were interviewed cared more about morals than politics when deciding who they wanted to be friends with but understood that the two could overlap.
Spitz Sousa said politics today deal with people rather than simple policies.
“It’s about people’s lives, and to me it’s about caring about marginalized communities. It’s less about politics in the strict sense and more about morals. I just can’t have a relationship, platonic, romantic, whatever, with someone that doesn’t care about the same things that I do,” Spitz Sousa said.
Sophomore Jonathan Hanna, a right-wing conservative, said he separates political issues from morals, while acknowledging that they can be intertwined.
“Where I draw the line is where people believe that a human can lose value based on what they say or, perhaps, that not every human has value in the first place or some people have implicitly more value than others based on some trait. For example, if you believe that some people intrinsically have more value than others based on the color of their skin,” Hanna said.
Levy, a centrist, also said there is an overlap between political decisions and morals, but cautioned against associating them too strongly.
“I think that your vote holds power and at the end of the day you’re voting for your morals, someone who’s going to withhold your morals in our country,” Levy said. “But I also take it with a grain of salt, that I don’t always hop on the bandwagon [of], ‘if you vote like this, these are your morals.’ I think it’s really important to distinguish political opinions from overall personalities.”
Politics within relationships
Over 82 percent of survey respondents said they feel comfortable sharing their political beliefs with their friends. Of the students interviewed, many stressed the importance of discussion and debate.
Freshman Avishai Lindenboim, who has friends with differing political affiliations, said that discussion between friends is important, using the example of a discussion about Luigi Mangione.
“Some people who I was friends with were saying that [Brian Thompson] deserved to die, which I do not agree with. Then I just had a conversation with them and I started to see their point of view and they started to see my point of view,” Lindenboim said.
Zubov, who typically bases relationships more on how people act on their views rather than their opinions, said that certain topics and discussions can affect the standings of her relationships.
“If an issue is big enough and important enough to me and me and my friend don’t see eye-to-eye at all, that will just put a tint on our friendship,” Zubov said. “I don’t think it will destroy it or ruin it, but it will definitely make me see them differently.”
BHS culture
Approximately 83 percent of Brookline voters voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and 12 percent voted for Donald Trump. While students represent a variety of political viewpoints, 84 percent of respondents said they are on the left, while only 5.3 percent identified as on the right.
Of the students interviewed, regardless of political affiliation, they noted a bias at the high school. Even though Chechelnitsky feels comfortable sharing his views, he said he thinks that the school should do a better job at accepting all beliefs, using the example of the Days of Racial Reform and Solidarity.
“I don’t think the administration should adopt as strong a stance as they have in the past. I don’t believe in the role of a school enforcing people’s politics,” Chechelnitsky said. “I think the point of school is to keep people informed so they can make their own decisions as opposed to the school making decisions for them and then informing them based on that decision.”
Hanna, a right-wing conservative, said that the fact that the high school is located in Brookline affects how politics are discussed at school.
“Even though there are a lot of people from diverse backgrounds, the culture is pretty monolithic, and so what that means is that certain beliefs can’t really be expressed without resistance,” Hanna said.
Chang, a Democrat, said the demographic of the town impacts students.
“Brookline is one of the bluest towns. I think a lot of teachers and classes, except for history teachers, generally try to shy away from politics, even though most people are Democratic,” Chang said. “I feel like hypothetically, if I were not [a Democrat], then it might be harder for me to express [my beliefs].”
Levy, a centrist, said that the school’s political climate enables people to make conclusions about others based on their political beliefs.
“I think one of the worst issues at BHS is that we’re already living in such a polarized society and instead of hearing people out and listening to other people’s political opinions and beliefs, we just jump to the conclusion that ‘if you don’t agree with what I do, I’m morally better than you,’” Levy said.
Advanced Placement Human Geography and United States history teacher Mark Wheeler said that politics are often brought up by students in class, but navigating discussions can be complicated.
“The interesting thing in Brookline is that usually we all sort of tilt to the left. So the fine line you want to walk is having a conversation that everybody feels like they can participate in,” Wheeler said. “But you also have to keep [the conversation] appropriate for a classroom and make sure people are feeling okay expressing their views and also listening to other views.”
Wheeler said that it is easy for the majority to express their opinions.
“But as a teacher, my belief is that you really need to support kids in the minority. The problem with the current level of discourse is, on both ends of the spectrum, it is no longer applicable or safe,” Wheeler said. “The rhetoric is so divisive and so problematic that it’s hard to imagine a real, wide-open political discourse.”
