High school students’ future will be shaped by the next four years
In 1848, the first Womens’ Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. In 1887, Susanna Salter became the first woman mayor in the country. Almost 30 years later, Jeannette Rankin was elected as the first woman in Congress. In 1920, after 72 years of struggle and perseverance, the 19th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote. But today, hundreds of years later, Americans are still afraid of women obtaining power.
In this year’s election, there was a clear divide along the gender line. In 2024, the majority of women voted for Kamala Harris. However, even at 53 percent, her female total was four percent less than Joe Biden’s in 2020. One of the most differentiating statistics for each candidate was their voter’s level of education, as 63 percent of those who had never attended college voted for the Republican Party. Supporting this trend, 59 percent of voters with an education level higher than a bachelor’s degree voted for the Democratic Party, according to the National Exit Polls from NBC News. The foundation and basis of where individuals’ education stems from is now being jeopardized by Donald Trump’s incoming agenda.
Women, however, are not the only people that are forgotten about when politicians shape the country. Students, even though they are the future of America, are often out of mind, even when proposed policies affect them the very most. Here in the Conejo Valley, each student is prepared for their future, whether they hope to attend college, join the military or pursue an alternative career path. Public schools, including those in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, receive their funding from state and federal services. As stated in the 2024 GOP platform, Trump and the Republican party plan to “close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send [the responsibility of education] back to the States.” States will have full control on how they allocate their funding, and they will put a majority towards private schools and institutions, taking resources away from public education.
By eliminating the Department of Education, students, teachers and administrators would be lacking an advocate from the federal government. The Republican Party also believes that children should only be taught fundamentals of reading, history, science and math, and will “defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children using Federal Taxpayer Dollars,” according to the 2024 GOP platform. If there was a focus solely on traditionally taught topics, students would be devoid of exposure to classes in which they are interested. Furthermore, attending college immediately after high school comes with immense difficulty, and students face many struggles with deciding on a major or what they intend to have as their profession for practically the rest of their lives. With the elective classes offered at Newbury Park High School, many students have found their passion and their future.
Another subject of high debate, perhaps even the most controversial, during this election was the access to abortion and each candidate’s stance on women’s reproductive rights. In a study done by Amanda Jean Steveson, Leslie Root and Jane Menken, maternal death rates in the U.S. rose in recent years and more than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths could have been prevented with an abortion. This research also concluded that the abortion ban will result in maternal deaths increasing by 24 percent. This is even more dangerous for black women, whose deaths would increase by 39 percent. Being that the majority of Trump’s supporters are men, there is a lack of knowledge and awareness when making decisions involving women’s health choices. Now that there are more males in office, there are even fewer representatives for women. Many proponents of abortion bans do not understand that women have abortions as a last resort, it is not a spur of the moment decision and women do not ever want to have an abortion. Many hospitals now have no choice but to turn away women who need abortions as medical care to save their lives. This results in both the mother and fetus dying.
Trump has taken credit for the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, which empowered 21 states in the U.S. to ban or limit access to abortion. Prior to its overturning, Roe v. Wade led to the decision of the Supreme Court that the right to privacy implied in the 14th Amendment protected abortion as a fundamental right. Now, each state makes its own decision on the legality of the procedure, and California is one of the states where abortion is still legal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has vowed to “defend access and support” abortion rights and stated that California has strong laws in place to protect reproductive freedom.
From 1920 to 1933 a nationwide prohibition called the 18th Amendment illegalized the manufacturing, transportation and sale of alcohol. This caused the emergence of illegal alcohol manufacturing called rum-running, moonshine and bootlegging. As Americans, we are turning a blind eye to our history and the consequences of banning abortions. A ban on abortion will still result in pregnant women finding alternative ways to obtain them, forcing women to find unsanitary methods and unsafe procedures. We have already seen many women who have been denied medically indicated medication and sent home to bleed without professional supervision. These doctors have been put into an inescapable and unimaginable position of navigating professional and ethical obligations without clarity under the law. And, with so many women dying because they are denied the healthcare they desperately need, how can anyone claim that the ban on abortions is Pro-Life?
As students, our futures will be primarily shaped by the next four years. Our society, and as individuals, must continue to fight for our own beliefs and the fundamental rights we have fought for in the past. We must continue to progress, rather than reverting back to our uneducated, corrupted ways.
