By Alex Piazza and Brett Schlossberg
Voting season is upon us, and Woodward Academy has a fresh batch of students that will be casting their ballots in the upcoming presidential election this November. Some are feeling excited and prepared to exercise their newfound voting liberties, while others are either unable to vote or entirely apathetic towards politics.
Many seniors are already bracing for election fallout, and they’re feeling the impact of the moments leading up to this election. Joshua Wiener ‘25, who will be voting this coming November, believes this election to be incredibly historic for our country.
“I feel…this is when America’s been the most divided… It will decide a lot for America,” Joshua said.
The Class of 2025 is also seeing the polarity between the two parties and their supporters, as well as the acuteness of the backlash that will follow the results of the 2024 election.
“I think of how far divided the two [political parties] are, I think, like, the people who support each party, they’re very passionate about it,” Joshua said, “and if one party was to win and the other wasn’t, then the [losing] party is probably gonna have some reaction.”
In its 125th year, Woodward Academy prizes its student diversity, and some seniors seem comfortable sharing conversations about politics.
“I believe Woodward gives me a safe space to express my views and opinions and people can respect them,” Joshua said.
Others, like Carrington Stallworth ‘25, believe that it’s difficult for a person to be perceived positively if they are very outspoken about politics.
“There definitely is a stigma around talking about politics and I feel like it’s something that a lot of people are afraid to do,” Carrington said. “But I personally feel like we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it because … this is the world we live in — this is our country — and I feel like we shouldnt be afraid especially when we have a say in it when we can vote.”
Given that Georgia is historically a swing state, each vote carries more weight. In the 2020 election, Biden won Georgia by 0.23%.
“Georgia is one of the most sought after states by Republicans and Democrats,” Joshua said. “The citizens of Georgia are going to have a lot more pressure on them to vote because we’re going to be a big deciding state.”
Fulton and Forsyth are two of the deepest blue counties in a purple state, so what happens there could determine the final outcome of our state’s results.
“Especially us that live in Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, the big cities,” Joshua said. “I think it puts a lot of pressure on us – for every single one of us to vote, regardless of your age, or your social status, or your race, I think every single person who can vote needs to vote.”
