By Cathi Choi
The presidential elections race will be emphasized for students during a series of political awareness days aimed at raising student voter turnout for the primaries on Feb. 5.
After students return from semester break on Jan. 30 they can expect to see posters throughout the campus displaying candidatesâ policies.
Senior prefect Hannah Moody â08 came up with the idea because she wanted to ensure that her fellow peers âwill not be contributors to voter apathy.â
âWe need to show that voting does matter and that this is a pivotal election year,â Moody said.
Moody hopes to invite a political speaker, have phone booths to call voters, put up candidate posters and an extra break. Aside from the posters, no specific plans have been finalized. Moodyâs plans have been complicated because of a day off on Feb. 4.
Moody has invited leaders of multiple clubs to help with the planning.Â
The Current Events Club, Model United Nations, Students Against Genocide, the Environmental Club, the Democratic Club and the Amnesty International Club will all be researching a political issue related to their organizations.
âI decided to invite clubs that are politically oriented or clubs that represent an important issue in the upcoming election or just worldwide issues,â Moody said.
Alex Fujinaka â08, co-president of the Current Events club, has been one of the âmajor people involved in planning,â Moody said.
âWeâre both in AP United States Government and a lot of what we learn is how a lot of young people arenât voting,â Fujinaka said.
He said that he hopes this week will increase voter awareness so that Harvard-Westlake students donât âfit into that curveâ of not voting.Â
Beyond ridding the campus of voter apathy, they also hope that students will become more politically aware in general.
âBecause weâre so predominantly liberal, a lot of us tend to become complacent in our liberal ideals,â Fujinaka said. âWith political awareness week, we hope to spur discussion and help people more clearly define their own ideals.â