Upper school teachers on why they voted today

“I’ve never been angrier at what I’m seeing in terms of the way this country is heading, or seems to be. Women’s rights are at stake, along with every other marginalized group, and I’ve also never felt so powerless, so I need to take some power back even it means just voting. I have to believe that my vote matters because otherwise I’m going to sink into this pit of despair and cry,” English teacher Brigid Miller said.

“I actually voted early on Sunday, so I saved my sticker so I could wear it with my vote tie. This indicates that Election Day is sort of like a holiday for me, it’s a high holy day. So I was walking back from Starbucks and standing at the stoplight, and one of the homeless people from that area comes riding by on a bicycle, and she slams on the brake and she looks at us and she points to me and my tie and she says, ‘I don’t know how to vote. I’m counting on you people to vote for me.’ And she handed me this flower and then rode away,” history teacher Byron Steven said. 

“I vote because it’s our right and I feel it’s our opportunity to speak up, and not only for myself but for other people,” music teacher Susan Nace said. 

“I voted because I can now. It’s only the second time that I can, because I became American just a few years ago—two years ago—and because I think you should always vote, but especially this time it’s so important,” art teacher Jaap Bongers said. 

“One, I think the midterm election is important because it raises awareness and gets people interested early on so they can research, talk to people and find out about the candidates and what’s on the ballot, so they’re more informed. I feel that voting is very important. This has been a major discussion in my house because some family members at some point in time after this last big election were very disappointed and felt like their vote didn’t matter. It was a tough one. I think we just have to continue to vote and believe that our vote does count and that we have a right to be able to state our opinion and vote for who we want to try and make a change,” math teacher Jeanette Fernandez said.