The new generation of voters used their political and social knowledge to make their impact on the polls this year. The republicans lead the election with a 5% increase over the democrats, putting Bruce Rauner in the place Pat Quinn occupied for a term before.

Over 40% of the DuPage County population casted their vote this past election, “People are not happy with how the country is currently running and they are exercising their right to vote and have their voices heard. I think that the people of our state and the country want to see some things changed and in order to get the people in government’s attention is through casting your votes,” social studies teacher Christopher LeRoy said.

Classes like AP European History, AP Government, and AP US History include mock trials in their curriculum that further a student’s understanding of a certain time period. There’s also student run elections that give kids a hands-on experience in a political campaign.

“It somewhat tends to become who has the most candy, who’s the loudest, who has the most friends, who’s able to be the most charismatic. Sometimes that’s kind of how politicians gain votes,” social studies teacher Susan Fuhrer said.

Teaching students the past and present of our government is crucial in our school. Being that the students graduating are the future of our country and government, a basic understanding of politics and opinionated debates can make a massive impact on the United States.

By Megan Arnold