Editor’s Note: This piece is one-half of a duo debating whether or not seniors should be allowed to vote in student government elections. The opposing argument can be found here.

As the end of the year approaches, eighth through twelfth graders buzz about the upcoming Student Government elections. Individuals are given the opportunity to vote for candidates who they think are best geared for the positions.

Election season is a lively time throughout the high school in part because all five grades are able to participate. But, only four of those grades will actually be at Parker to see their votes in action.

Because seniors will not be returning to Parker the following year when the elected positions will be in Student Government, it is not fair that they are able to have a say in who will assume the positions for the upcoming school year.

Although it may seem a fair argument to say that because seniors have been in high school the longest, they therefore have the most knowledge about the government, that does not always prove to be true.

Just because they have attended Student Government functions the longest does not mean they know the most about Student Government, although some seniors may. Seniors might not have taken advantage of their Student Government time to truly engage with the curriculum. Therefore, their time in Student Government does not directly correlate to their level of knowledge about it.

There are many underclassmen who have much less experience in Student Government, but have utilized their time to understand and connect with the process much better than some seniors have. Such students have more knowledge and qualifications for voting than some seniors who have regularly skipped plenary or have dozed off during it.

As long as students pay attention and take Student Government seriously, everyone should have a fair and somewhat equal understanding of who would best fit the positions. It doesn’t matter that seniors have gone through more election seasons. What matters is who is engaged and understands the candidates.

This is not to say that voters need a certain level of qualification in order to vote. It is to prove the point that some freshman may be more understanding of the government than some seniors and because of this, the argument that seniors know best is invalid.

Seniors are not the only students who skip or don’t pay attention to plenary. Plenty of juniors, sophomores, and freshmen do as well. The difference is that the seniors will not have to live with who gets elected while the other grades will.

The votes will not impact the seniors and because of this, they may not take the time to learn the candidates and genuinely choose students based off of their skills. They might take the election process as a joke and vote for students based off of popularity or other criteria unrelated to their ability to assume the elected position.

Because the rising seniors,  juniors, sophomores, and freshmen will have to deal with the upcoming year’s elected positions, they will be more inclined than the current seniors to vote for students who will actually fit the position well.

Although Parker values community, and seniors will in a sense remain part of the community forever, they  soon be moving on to new communities. They have to move on at some point. They cannot remain at Parker forever. Because they will have to separate from the school, their not being able to vote is not an insane idea– it’s the start of their inevitable separation.

By voting, seniors are taking the role as an active citizen in a community they will not longer directly be affected by the following year. Just as seniors are not allowed to run for positions, they should not be able to influence a Student Government they will be free from as they enter college.