Each year at NK, many people get involved in political issues that are raised in our town. For some, it comes as a very serious issue to let the Town Council and other political figures do something in which students and faculty may agree or disagree with. Political issues raise a lot of controversy.

I remember last year as a junior here at North Kingstown High School, my teacher for Democracy, Mr. Dave Avedisian, was really interested in adding sidewalks to Annaquatucket Road. (Annaquatucket is one of the streets that leads to the high school.) This was due to close-corner accidents and not having enough space for walkers and such.

It was something he has been trying to accomplish for a while now, but so far, not enough progress has been made to get it to happen. Mr. Avedisian had my class write an email to a member of the Town Council in order to get them to push for more sidewalks along the street. A lot of the emails that students got back were about the money to have this put in. It is very hard sometimes to get what you want. In this case, we wanted to change something here at North Kingstown High School. Students must always be striving forward in a consistent manner in order to have something happen, even if it takes a long time.

“Students need to know they have a voice. Their silence empowers others. Some may not have their best interests at hand,” said Mr. Larry Verria, a Democracy teacher. (Verria is also chair of the History Department.) “That said, they need to know how to activate change in a non-violent manner.”

I have realized that having the ability to stand up for something that is meaningful creates a big impact on the people in the community.

“Currently students are working through a government framework model with their advisor, Mr. [Liam] Mooney. Through this vehicle, students can question and potentially change the current practices,” Verria added. “In addition, students participate in their Democracy classes, which includes a project about activating change with a real-life issue of their choosing.”

It will be fascinating to see an increased number of students participate in politics. This will allow them to become more active and more aware.