How high school journalists can help promote civic engagement
By Fleur Kelly, West Brunswick High School
The way that people — and especially Generation Z — interact with politics and the flow of information has shifted completely since the internet and social media, and this comes with its ups and downs for student journalists.
Social media guides people to find new ideas, laws, political philosophies and issues that they may want to push for or against.
Due to this increase in information, they have been able to understand their politicians’ goals and morals more than ever and allow journalists of all ages to easily access information and report on current issues. But not everyone believes in the validity of social media’s impact.
“It just makes everything so hateful,” West Johnston High School Adviser Samantha Lam said. “Mass amounts of people get to spread mass amounts of misinformation.”
There are many fact-checking programs online for free use, including PolitiFact, Snopes and AFP Fact Check. These resources can help professional and student journalists alike verify their sources.
Research from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) found that not only do young people care more about the issues candidates address than their personalities, but they value candidates who aspire to bring change.
“They can always cheat the system without us knowing,” said Yearbook copy editor and future Editor in Chief Nourriahh Scott. “We try to vote for people who believe in our causes only for them to set us up for failure, it’s hard to trust any politician now.”
America has been seeing a distrust of candidates all too commonly in voters, Pew Research found that most Americans’ out view on politicians and politics overall is “unrelentingly negative.”
“Just like lots of other systems there are gaps, there are loopholes there is corruption,” said The Rush Instructor Mia Khatib. “And when we see these things, it can be easy to lose faith, and honestly, I’m not hopeful that the current runners will reflect the kind of country I want to see.”
With these feelings of mistrust and more present during a critical election year, how can high school journalists cover or engage their peers in political participation?
Share op-eds with other media outlets, especially local ones
High school journalists may want to state their opinions, especially based on the reporting that they’re seeing. There are a variety of programs out there for high schoolers to have their voice heard, including The New York Times’ Student Opinion Section and EducationNC.
There are many other ways to get involved with politics, particularly on a local level.
Start covering local politics in your own paper
Doing your research on your community’s politics is the first step. You can do this through interviews, surveys and looking through statistics and voting history in your area. Your local paper likely has a historical record of these things.
Going directly to rallies and meetings allows you to see and hear what’s happening directly from the source. If you’re at an organized protest, be respectful and polite and follow guidelines set by professionals.
Interview as many people as possible for the most accurate and reflective perspectives.
Request public records
You can access court case records by visiting a public self-operated terminal located at a clerk of court’s office in any county, criminal cases are a bit trickier, there are no statewide searches, you can only access the county’s records through the clerk of superior court office at the courthouse.
These are the basic records you may want to access when doing investigative work, however, all of this information and resources can be found at North Carolina’s Judicial Branch website.
Vote in local elections
Make sure to attend as many county and town meetings to have a say in your immediate government. In local elections you have more power than on a national level, not only is it easier to hear individual voices but political meetings and events are much more accessible to the public.
“Even though we’re young, we’re still humans,” said North Buncombe High student Mila Blakeney. “I think it’s very important to not see us as naive, we have more tools to be educated with than ever, we’re not stupid.”