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.

It’s election season. Upperclassmen, underclassmen, and eighth graders all go to seperate areas of the school with a pencil in hand to circle the names of their fellow classmates on a skinny piece of paper.

Every year, election season rolls around, and Student Government positions are elected by the student body. These are important positions, including Student Government president, senate heads, Director of Committee affairs, and treasurer.

This group of voters includes seniors, who will not be at Parker next year, so students can be hesitant at times on if seniors should maintain voting status in the election each year. Although this is not a huge issue in the high school, it does cause discussion every election season.

Seniors are still an important group of people who are a part of Parker, and they should be able to vote. The seniors won’t be affected by the votes cast, true, but their votes should matter just like those of the rest of the high school.

First off, the seniors have been at school the longest and have gained the most experience in Student Government. They know the positions best and will be able to know who is actually qualified because they know the responsibilities better.

Through plenary, committee meetings, and small groups, even if they have not run for positions themselves, they have had the most time spent in Student Government-related activities. If the ballot is taken seriously, they will vote on who deserves the position, and who will actually do quality work.

Some students see the election as more of a popularity contest, especially for positions like President. The well-educated seniors, who have experience in Student Government, can help balance that, with mass votes that come with knowledge and experience.

An underclassman may not even know what some of the positions do, what responsibilities they require, and what qualities the person had who previously held the position.

Additionally, it would be illogical for the current president to not be able to have any say on who fills his or her spot the following year. Many of the larger positions on cabinet are filled with seniors, and those seniors, having held the positions for a year, and dealt with the responsibilities, truly know what they take.

This is a unique and critical perspective in the voting process, as every vote really does count. This group of individuals who have held the position know better than anyone who really deserves the spot and can handle the job at hand.

Another point to bring up is that many of the larger positions are filled with upperclassmen, and seniors know the candidates better than underclassmen. They know who is running seriously and who is not, while younger students may not know the candidates well.

Last year, when I was in 8th Grade, I voted for who I knew, and who I thought were the most qualified candidates — but with limited knowledge about Student Government. Not even knowing almost all of the candidates, most of my votes were just who I had heard of before.

Student Government can be very confusing, and even one year later, I can tell that with each year in Student Government comes more knowledge, and with that I feel much more confident with my ballot this year, so 4 or 5 years of SG experience will really make a difference.

While many seniors take the ballot seriously, that is not always the case, which has students second guessing if seniors should even vote.

Some students criticize the election system because they believe seniors take the ballot jokingly, voting for their friends, or for the obvious wrong choice. While this may happen, any person in any grade could vote on the ballot as a joke.

This is not a reason to stop the seniors from voting. Everyone votes for their friends, and that is not an issue that should isolate the seniors.

The seniors will physically not be at Parker next year, but any other student in any other grade could remain completely uninvolved in Student Government, not paying attention in plenary, or running/applying for any position, and such a student would still deserve the right to vote, especially since Parker calls itself an embryonic democracy.

There is nothing stopping any student from taking the ballot as a joke, and although seniors may be more likely to, the only way to prevent joke ballots would be to stop voting altogether, and that would simply make no sense. Without voting, there would be no Student Government.

And lastly, one of the most important aspects of Parker is that it is a community. The seniors are a part of our community, and will be even after they graduate. This month they are still members of the high school, and have been a part of Student Government for four years.

Every member of the Parker community is important, and their ballot should not be taken away just because they are graduating. The community in the high school at Parker is something that is so special to the school, and excluding the seniors from a noteworthy and significant process would mean  breaking up the community.

I truly think it would be a shame if in 3 years, after all this time I had dedicated myself to Student Government, and seeing friends in the grade below me run for positions, I were unable to vote because I was a senior. Seniors should continue to cast their ballots each spring, and help elect their fellow students.