![With the energy and effort the Bolts were bringing to the game, the Phoenix had to step up and match them to make it through their first game of the season. Many of the girls on the team, including freshman Nazly Rostom, have been playing soccer since their childhood and have grown a love for the sport as a result. “It was fun to see how we actually played in a [real] game,” Rostom said. “Even though the outcome was not what we were hoping for, I’m still happy we got to play together.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0154-1200x800.jpg)
![Held up by a group of cheerleaders, flyer sophomore Leyu Yonas poses as part of a stunt, also supported by flyer junior Shayne Mitchell behind her. (Left) Prior to the pink out football game on Oct. 13, the athletes practiced in the aux gym from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Right) On Oct. 19, the cheerleaders competed in their District Championships at Woodgrove High School. “We definitely put all our effort on the mat [at Districts], and it showed,” Mitchell said. Left: Photo by Nadia Shirr. Right: Photo by Steve Prakope via Victor O’Neill Studios.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/feature-image-1200x823.png)
![Sophomore Xavier Smith (6), the Phoenix quarterback, runs the ball as his teammates help hold up the defense. “My [offensive] line collapses, so I just [have to run], and its a good way to get first downs because [Tuscarora’s] defense was really good,” Smith said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5383-1200x897.jpg)
![As the referee throws the ball up for the tip-off, freshman Simone Diby leaps towards the ball to get it in Phoenix possession. Diby is a new member of the Phoenix girls basketball team, and despite it being a change, she finds it enjoyable. “It’s definitely a different experience if you’ve never played on a team, [but] I think it’s still fun.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0057-1200x662.jpg)
Gen Z Voters Take To Polls; Focus On Economy, Racial Inequality, Health Care As Top Concerns
Coming of age during a turbulent election year, the Generation Z voting bloc has a greater potential than ever to affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Photo courtesy of Steve Rainwater/Wikimedia Commons; Graphic by Shradha Dinesh
An “I voted” sticker is segmented like a pie chart, the outstanding portion representing the growing Generation Z voting population. According to Pew Research Center, one-in-ten voters in the 2020 general election are 18 to 23 years old.
November 1, 2020
This year, young Americans face an onslaught of historic events: a generational public health crisis that has disrupted families, their education, and has resulted in substantial economic consequences; reckonings for racial justice that have swept across communities following the killings of several Black Americans; and numerous natural disasters attributable to an intensifying climate crisis.
The volatility that has characterized this contentious election year has resulted in increased voter participation across the board. According to the U.S. Elections Project, a database tracking voter turnout, early voters have cast 51.6% of the total votes counted in the 2016 general election as of Oct. 28. In Loudoun County, 32.67% of registered voters have voted in person or by mail as of Oct. 22. If total votes surpass 150 million, as the turnout-tracker predicts, the 2020 general election will hold the highest participation rate since 1908.
One significant change in this election is the emergence of a substantial voting bloc. In the 2016 general election, Generation Z accounted for 2% of the votes cast. This year, the young voters, aged 18 to 23, will comprise of one-in-ten eligible voters, according to Pew Research Center.
“I believe that younger people are definitely coming out this year,” Ariel Shumaker, the outreach coordinator for the Loudoun County Office of Elections, said. “I definitely know that there is an increase in participation because, for even my election page program, I had to cut it off at 240 kids who will be volunteering at the different polling places. Since cutting that off a week ago, I’ve received about 80 more applications.”
Shumaker says that teenagers have “shocked” her by asking great questions during their high school visits. “The truth is that every state is different, and I’ve found that kids, especially in Loudoun County, have asked some of the most amazing questions that really get them to understand the system versus going with a rumor of some sort,” she said.
If you don’t vote, you have no voice; you have excluded yourself from the system that people have worked so so hard for and given their lives to have the opportunity to be a part of. The reason that people should vote is because they can. — Ariel Shumaker, outreach coordinator, Loudoun County Office of Elections
From Oct. 15 to Oct. 27, The Blaze conducted a survey of 93 seniors on election participation and the issues of importance to them. Of the respondents who are eligible to vote in the 2020 general election, 71.4% indicated that they were registered and planning to vote. The other respondents cited a lack of enthusiasm for both major party candidates as their reason for not voting.
Further, students’ responses regarding the issue of most importance were split, with the economy, racial/ethnic inequality, health care, and violent crime taking the top spots. On the second most important issue, students overwhelmingly chose the COVID-19 pandemic.
One voter, senior Chris Moss, said that they are voting for former Vice President Joe Biden. Moss, a registered Democrat, supported Bernie Sanders’ candidacy during the primary elections because of his Medicare-for-all plan. “I’d rather have anyone else as a Democratic candidate, but [Biden] is not Donald Trump, and that is honestly why I am mainly voting for him,” Moss said. “I care about health care, but I also care about how [the president] treats people, because I know that [Biden] is not going to do anything to infringe upon my rights.”
Megan Casas, a junior who is not yet eligible to vote, wants a president “who makes me feel like I matter.” As someone who identifies as left-leaning, Casas said her ideal candidate would be someone who “actually really wants to help this country, and they want free health care … They care about justice.” Casas believes that the younger demographic “just wants to be heard.”
Similarly, junior Alexandra Hardesty, though not yet eligible to vote, hopes to see racial and gender equality, health care for all, the environment, and accessibility to college education be prioritized. Hardesty’s first choice during the primaries was Andrew Yang because she supported him personality-wise and policy-wise; her second choice was Biden. Hardesty holds that many of her views stem from viewing documentaries about crime and racial injustice in the criminal justice system.
“I have minority relatives because I’m biracial — half-white and half-Black — and I do think it’s important to use my voice in that way,” Hardesty said. “Also, seeing the protests over the summer and how everything was treated with tear gas and rubber bullets — it just hit me hard.”
Looking forward, Hardesty wants people from all sides of the political spectrum to be “willing to come together to solve our problems.”
On voting, Shumaker urges people to listen to reputable sources and vote for who they want to vote for. “We vote in representatives to make decisions on our behalf, so, therefore, don’t you want a voice? If you don’t vote, you have no voice; you have excluded yourself from the system that people have worked so so hard for and given their lives to have the opportunity to be a part of,” she said. “The reason that people should vote is because they can.”
The general election will take place on Nov. 3; polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all Loudoun County locations.
![Standing center stage, senior Ananya Akula conducts the Phoenix Chorale. “[Conducting and teaching] is really fun,” Akula said. “Music education is what I want to do.” On the day of the choir assessment, Akula found out that she received the President’s Music Scholarship – a full ride to the University of Miami Frost School of Music.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ananya-600x400.jpg)
![Senior Fatima Qaderi grew into the person she wanted to become when she was younger and continues to work towards growing more confident in using her voice when it matters. “I didnt get treated the way I wanted to be treated, and I realized that it wasnt just them treating me the wrong way, it was me treating me the wrong way,” Qaderi said. “I forced them to like to look at me in a way where Im someone who needs to be respected; they cant just disregard me, they cant just look over me because I have a different opinion, because Im a woman, because Im Afghan, because Im Muslim, or whatever. It just took going through different experiences to figure out how [I wanted to] be heard.” Photo courtesy of Fatima Qaderi.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3870-600x471.jpeg)
