Politics is very dirty business, even in high school. Ever since the beginning of student government elections, the race has always been a popularity contest. Whether it’s to feel “cool” and part of the “in crowd” or because the other candidate is just plain weird, people often choose to vote for the more popular candidate rather than the one who would do best as their leader. Two other elements that play into who wins the election, even in real politics, is race and social media. Although these factors are never directly admitted to, much less encouraged, they are nonetheless present in the modern-day voter’s mind when deciding on the vote.

Even our nation’s leaders in Congress use these factors to their advantages through a method called gerrymandering. It’s a form of redistricting in which representatives try to include a specific demographic in their district to ensure their re-election. It’s also no surprise that the majority of African Americans voted for President Obama in 2008, and it is certainly no surprise that schools with a majority of Caucasian students will have a Caucasian class president.

Many candidates started using the Internet as a means of communicating with potential voters. There’s always a better chance of gaining votes by having a Facebook page with 10 thousand “likes” or having a million followers on Twitter than being unknown in cyberspace. Especially since school candidates begin campaigning only about a week prior to elections, social media networks can begin spreading the word as soon as the candidate decides he or she is running for office.

While there are many things that can influence people to vote for a specific person, it’s still really disappointing when students place their ballot before hearing all of the other choices. Students have been witnessed to chat away during certain candidates’ speeches but give their undivided attention to certain others.There’s no doubt that some students, if not most, did the exact same thing for AHS’s class elections, which were held on April 7, and in other past school elections.

Even television shows portray the ugly truth of class elections: the person with the best publicity or who fits the demographic of that school always wins, no matter their credentials. Aside from the infamous 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite, in which the underdog Pedro won the election, most TV shows and movies feature the most popular girl or boy coming out on top. TV series such as The Simpsons, Popular (1999) and Lizzie McGuire all include such episodes.

Does it seem fair that looks, charm, humor and even race can overcast qualities such as intelligence, creativity and dependability when it comes down to the ballot? Of course not; but unfortunately, this is the case most times. In many situations, the same person is elected every year and gets very little done for his or her class.

One would think the students would learn from their mistakes and possibly reconsider their voting methods after seeing the lack of leadership. Yet, it never seems to hit them hard until their senior prom is held in their school gym and they aren’t able to afford the graduation they deserve after four long years of high school. That’s when they start thinking, “wow, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to vote for that person just because we’re both from the same country.”

In the real world, government officials who are elected this same way are rarely the most fit to lead. While the scale of calamity for these mistakes is much smaller in school, it’s nonetheless important for students to learn the value of franchise. Why waste your precious voting ticket on someone who may not be beneficial to your interests in the long run?