In today’s political climate, slogans and cliches are often used in place of genuine political discussion, but at the end of the day they’re just rhetoric. They’re just quotes and sayings for Gen Z, the students of now, to feel like we’re making a change. We feel as though if we keep pushing these quotes, finally something will click, and the world will be altered. We think life will be better and we’ll see justice. For the first time in our lives, we’ll be truly happy. 

The unfortunate truth is that this will never happen. We can use these quotes to press activism on our peers who don’t actually care. It creates a sense of pride that by some measure, believing in this hope will make us better than others. The reason they don’t seem to care is because rhetoric isn’t doing anything. It’s merely a distraction. This is furthered by the lack of partisan clubs allowed at LT.

The Equal Access Act of 1984 prohibits schools from receiving federal funding if they deny students of any political or religious orientation from forming clubs. This law is very important in protecting students’ First Amendment rights. The very right that will wake up our school’s culture and allow us to discuss the underlying problems facing the world today. Partisan clubs at LT would create an environment for students to express ideas about ways to fundamentally change the world around them. 

Clubs at LT are all bipartisan clubs, meaning they have no political affiliation. This leaves students clinging onto clubs that focus on similar ideals, but without the fulfillment of being a part of a partisan club. 

With these bipartisan clubs comes an obsession with identity politics. Identity politics, by definition are: “a tendency for people of a particular religion, race, or social background, to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics.” Bipartisan clubs lead to an obsession with identity politics because these clubs put “band-aids” on their respective issues. Instead of talking about the root of problems and looking at others perspectives, students only justify their own beliefs. They talk instead of digging deeper within themselves and within their country to find solutions. If we keep this up, political discussions will move entirely away from deeper ideas of why we have yet to see any real change. People’s passion for making change in our world will die. Discussing broad-based politics needs to be encouraged in schools now more than ever in an effort to inspire real change in the world.  

Partisan clubs can create a better community for all students at LT. Independent thinking clubs like this can inspire people to find a more profound meaning in life. It can invite an environment that allows students to dig deeper into why they feel empty and lost, so they don’t misinterpret this shallowness, identity politics created into hate, and ultimately violence. Leaving us helpless. The change must start here, at LT.