Scottish voters chose not to secede from the United Kingdom after much anticipation from the Scottish National Party, as well as Upper School faculty and alumni with roots in U.K.

Prior to the opening of the polls, the public in the U.K. did not particularly favor either cause. According to a poll conducted by the ScotCen independent research center, opposition of secession gathered 52% of survey votes and affirmation of independence received 48% of the votes, without accounting for the 8% of the Scottish that remained indecisive.

John Docherty, an Upper School English teacher who was born outside of Glasgow, Scotland, pointed to a potential inequality in the distribution of funds as a key reason for secession and gave his support to the Scottish independence movement.

“I think the idea of independence is more about centuries of the English treating the Scottish as second-class citizens,” Docherty said. “The dispersing of [U.K tax] money from Westminster very seldom gets north of the border, so [Scotland will] be contributing from a taxation standpoint, but the infrastructure investment in Scotland is actually diluted. So from my standpoint, I would vote yes.”

Voter turnout in Scotland yesterday reached record heights as, for the first time, voters as young as sixteen years old could fill ballots to provide support or resistance to Scotland’s secession initiative.

History teacher Ruth Meyer, who was born in England, voiced caution against this lowered voting age with regards to the decision upon the future of the United Kingdom, claiming that 16-year old voters may not be independent of their parents and of the media, and may thus be influenced or manipulated easily during the vote.

Aditi Ashok (‘12), an Upper School alumnus who currently studies at the University of Edinburgh, witnessed the voting fervor in Scotland from last week to yesterday.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Aditi said in an email interview. “Lots of people marching in the street. Both sides have been very vocal about their opinions.”

Scottish nationalists and politicians decided to put independence to a vote after decades of tensions between the Scottish and the British. In January of 2011, Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, announced the Scottish secession referendum to take place during fall of 2014.

In terms of relations with England and the financial systems of the U.K., Meyer agreed with Docherty’s view.

“Maybe [the Scottish] think, perhaps, that England is taking too much of the privileges and taking too much of the cream,” Meyer said. “Certainly, England has always seemed to be the wealthiest part of the United Kingdom.”

The uneven distribution of wealth between the Scottish and the British was also noted by Susan Prutton, who was born in Britain and manages Upper School attendance. She pointed to North Sea oil as a potential incendiary for ties with England.

“[England has] benefited greatly from the oil in the North Sea, and we haven’t returned as much of that wealth to Scotland as they, perhaps, deserved,” Prutton said. “There’ve been a number of things like that where maybe they haven’t got a fair handout, and they haven’t had a fair say, I should say in votes.”

Meyer also claimed that Scottish secession would disrupt future unity within the U.K. by fragmenting the union.

Prutton supported whichever decision the Scottish people made, despite her English heritage.

“I would support secession,” Prutton said. “Whilst obviously I’m English, and from a personal perspective it’s great to think of the United Kingdom as a whole, but I feel like they have every right to make this decision. For me, it’s just a great symbol of democracy that they are able to do this through ballot box, and if they decide to secede, absolutely, I’d support them.”

Aditi presented a contrasting perspective about the Scottish referendum, with regard to Scottish nationalist zeal by claiming that Scottish pride may cause several voters to choose secession rashly rather than carefully.

Now that the voting booths have closed and ballots have been tallied, the Scottish decision to remain aligned with the U.K. has dulled the Scottish nationalist party. Alex Salmond stepped down today after serving as First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish nationalist movement since 2007. Continuation with U.K. also points to increased pressure for the British Parliament in providing equitable funding to each nation in the union. If conditions in the U.K. remain tense, there is a likelihood that the Scottish may decide to re-vote, or another country in the alliance may try to dissociate.