Politics have always been a common conflict between groups, but this year will be different. With the election so close, many students are getting more involved in politics. The large outlet for political information that social media provides has definitely increased younger people’s ideas on politics. Social Media has amplified recent deaths of people of color causing anger among students. It has also caused some misconceptions between the parties. All of these can cause a massive divide among RHS students.

The recent debate has definitely sparked a bit of conflict between some students. Posts on social media were very quick to show the side the student had picked. Some students’ opinions have already caused a bit of fuss among others. I asked Haniya Rizwan, Sophomore, and very vocal about her democratic views if she has seen a political divide. She says, “yes, I feel as if people post things on social media that support a political party and then if a student doesn’t believe the same thing as them they will argue about it, therefore, creating a rift between students”. Social media draws lots of attention to politics as it’s the main source of political information for most high school students. When opinions are shared it can cause a bit of conflict.

The police brutality that has come to light throughout this pandemic has caused political outrage among students. This sparked many social media outlets to put out more information about racism and the murders that have occurred. Following the deaths of these people, protests erupted and the looting that has happened at some protests has definitely caused a diverge between students. According to a chart by  statista.com about 434 people of color have been killed this year. Some of these deaths were not racially motivated but some are, and problems like these have been made very visible by students and have caused a partition in our school.

Misinformation/common misconceptions have flooded social media and have definitely broken students up. For example, many Republicans believe that Joe Biden wants to defund the police but, he actually doesn’t want to he has been very vocal about his opinion regarding the subject. Many of Donald Trump’s ads suggest that he does want to, which has shown some political misinformation. I asked Sophia Klock, sophomore and member of the RHS Young Republicans, and actively vocal on her Republican political views if she thought there was a divide, she says, “yes, very much so. Many students believe that one’s political views make them a certain way. Like if someone supports Trump then their automatically racist, sexist, homophobic, etc”. False information can be harmful to both sides and can draw a greater separation between students.

Relationships have been split over the upcoming election and it’s mainly been caused by social media, which has become much more centered around politics, making it an easy source of information on current events. It can also spread awareness to something as important as racism, and the misinformation that can easily go around that can give people a false allusion and block them from the facts. These political problems are tearing apart students. Although most of us can’t vote, it’s important for our voices to be heard because our futures are at risk. For more information from students on the election check out this video by ABC news.