Division seems unavoidable in today’s political climate, from the split on Capitol Hill, to student opinions at Valley.
Matthew Poth, a history teacher of 9th, 10th and 12th grade sees this as a common feature of America.
“It’s shocking and it’s upsetting, and I think rightfully so, but it’s also because we’re living through it, and we’ve always been politically divided,” Poth said. “We always will be politically divided. It’s one of those things that makes us uniquely American in a really frustrating way.”
Here at Valley, the school hosts political clubs for the purpose of insightful conversation. Chris Humenik teaches English, but he also is the sponsor for the Young Democrats club. He intends to keep his club as an open conversation about current events and a place to feel safe in those discussions. However, the political divide still reaches the club.
“[I respond] as passively as possible because I am a teacher, but we have bulletin boards with information and news instead of anything combative,” Humenik said.
Within the club, an effort is made to create a space that is comfortable for students to share their thoughts on the issues that they support.
“We try to keep a safe and calm environment to be able to talk about how we’re feeling and decompress,” Hummenik said.
While he doesn’t head a political club, Poth sees the divide as a product of social media and homelife influence, especially among students.
“For students, I think depending on their homelife and depending on their social media use, I think it can create a lot of echo chambers where students are just, especially younger kids, are just regurgitating what they’ve heard, and don’t really understand what it means, and they don’t understand the damage that that can cause their peers,” Poth said.
Ultimately, Poth sees the divide as damaging, and advocates for a stronger sense of unity within the country.
“I just think it divides us, and that’s a shame, because, you know, we’re stronger together and united, even if we disagree with each other on political things, we’re still Americans, we’re still neighbors,” Poth said.
