The FHS Political Science Club
Democracy is the backbone of American government, and gives the American people the opportunity to directly choose the people that represent us in our houses of government. However, voter turnout is only at 60% of the population that can vote, and that’s only during years with a presidential election. During midterms, it’s 40%. Only 40% of the people that can vote are choosing who run the country, and many sources believe this is due to a lack of interest in younger voters.
The Political Science Club here at FHS aims to solve this problem, one voter at a time. It aims to inform people about various political topics with no bias, looking at both sides of every issue. It holds debates over different topics, with people speaking for each side of the issues brought up, and so much more.
I asked Grant Heminger, the student leader of the Political Science Club, about the club and what students could look forward to in the club.
What is the Political Science Club all about?
We, being myself and Mr Doucette, we kind of identified a lack of an educated and active Franklin voting community. Especially with midterms coming up so soon, the initial focus is really going to be heavy on making sure that people in the Franklin community – and hopefully that will disseminate as far as possible – understand the issues and to create an educated and active voting public more than anything.
What do you see a typical Political Science meeting looking like?
Early on, we’re going to be laying the framework for what we are, what political science is, and then how each member feels politically. That’s something that is going to be completely confidential if they choose. We are going to have a number of speakers, guest speakers, coming in on the docket, which is going to be pretty important. We locked down Mayor Steve Olson. He’s going to come in in a couple of weeks. Former Mayor Tommy Thompson was good friends with my Grandfather, so he’s coming. We’re trying. It’s a tough time for now, but both Mr. Doucette and I have some connections to Tammy Baldwin. We’re going to see if we can get her to come and speak, but no promises there…Everything is bipartisan. We are not going to try to push any agenda on anybody, we just want people to know, “Who is Tony Evers?”, “Who is Scott Walker?”, what have they done, how do they handle certain situations, et cetera, as well as “What is pre-existing conditions?”, “What is DACA reform?” There are a number of issues we think the Wisconsin voter should be aware of.
Anything else you’d like to say about the Political Science Club?
If you have any interest in politics, or you have any interest in learning more about politics in a fun and safe way, stop down to Mr. Doucette’s room after school on Tuesdays!
For more information on the activities of Franklin High School, look no further than the Saber Slate!