LOCAL NEWS
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By Jeana Kim-Bolt
Following months of deliberation, the Madison School Board has voted to rename James Madison Memorial as Vel Phillips Memorial High School. Memorial is one of three Madison schools to have undergone a name change in the past two years, after Glendale Elementary was renamed as Dr. Virginia Henderson Elementary in early 2020 and Falk Elementary was renamed Milele Chikasa Anana Elementary in late 2021. The debate around Memorial sparked in 2017, when student Mya Berry launched a Change.org petition advocating for a new school name. She argued that having a school named for James Madison, a slaveowner who owned over 100 Black Americans and held racist views including the endorsement of the Three-fifths Clause, created a discriminatory, unsafe environment. After garnering over 1,700 signatures for her petition, Berry submitted an official proposal to the school board in August 2020. She suggested that they rename the school after Velvalea “Vel” Phillips, a Wisconsin native who had a number of historical achievements. In 1951, Phillips became the first Black female graduate from the UW-Madison law school, in 1956 became the first female judge in Milwaukee County and first Black judge in Wisconsin, and in 1978 became the first Black female state official–the Wisconsin Secretary of State. The school board accepted the proposal and formed an ad hoc naming committee, which included Mya Berry. They agreed that the new name should include “Memorial,” as it is the nickname students use most frequently. In addition to Vel Phillips Memorial, the other top name contenders were Bruce Dahmen Memorial, after a beloved former principal; Darlene Hancock Memorial, after the first Black female principal in Madison; or simply Memorial. Students were most supportive of Memorial High School, but the committee agreed that they should pay tribute to a significant figure who could inspire current and future students. However, student representative Eliana Sauer claimed that problems could arise from naming the school after Dahmen or Hancock. Although they were both highly regarded and admired principals, some students could have had negative experiences with them. Ultimately, the committee selected Vel Phillips, who passed away in 2018. As representative Rosemary Barrientos explained, “This is an opportunity to honor people that have been underrepresented in Madison, and I think it’s an opportunity to put forward a female, a female of color.” |
By Claire Wiley
With the spring election on April 5th approaching, voters are getting ready to head to the polls. While every election is important and impactful, this year is especially important for voters in Dane County, as the Court of Appeals Judge, Dane County Circuit Court judge, Dane County Board supervisors, and School Board members are all up for election in this upcoming election. Young voters—those ranging from 18-24 years old—consistently have the lowest voter turnout among all age brackets. But this isn’t surprising: major increases were made during the 2020 presidential election; where half of eligible young voters voted, an 11 point increase from the previous presidential election. There is still a gap between the turnout of young voters and the older age brackets. This means that the younger demographic is not as represented in government, as they do not participate as much as other age groups. Political scientists break down the reasoning behind this gap into three general reasons: habit development, opportunity cost, and alternative involvement. The first of these reasons, habit development, can be boiled down to the fact that voting is a habit. In order to create a habit, repetition and practice is key. Because many young voters have never voted before or have voted in very few elections, the habit of voting does not exist like it does for older voters. Through more encouragement of younger voters, these habits can be developed earlier in life, leading to these people being more likely to become lifelong voters. By creating these habits, young people are also more likely to head to the polls consistently and in off year elections. In addition to habit development, opportunity cost perpetuates the gap in voter turnout between older and younger voters. Younger voters are more likely to have difficulty finding the time to vote. With no habit development, younger voters, who are likely to have less financial ability to take off work to vote, have a larger opportunity cost than older voters. This is a difficult barrier to overcome, but by making things like absentee voting more widely available and understood, we can get around these difficulties. Alternative involvement is the final general reason for the gap in voter turnout between older and younger voters. Many would argue that young people do not vote because they are not interested in politics. This, however, is not the case. Young people are very interested, but they tend to get involved in ways other than voting. Take the protests throughout the summer of 2020, where actions were led by young people, who spread the word via social media. Those who were around this young voters age bracket were extremely involved and interested in politics. When it came time to head to the polls in November 2020, there was increased voter turnout among 18 to 24 year olds as cited earlier, but the gap between youth voter turnout and those of older age brackets persists. One possible reason as to why the gap persists is that young people don’t always see the direct change that they see through direct activism in voting. Knocking door to door, protesting, and posting on social media can all see direct and immediate change, while voting has to take into account the votes of all of the other voters in order to decide an outcome. The solution to increasing young voter turnout is multi-dimensional, but education is a major component of the solution. Once voters have registered, many young voters feel unprepared when heading to the polls, which is often a hindrance to them heading to the polls in the first place. Through civics education, young voters are more likely to follow through with voting. By providing young voters with the tools and understanding of the governmental process, they are able to recognize the power that their vote holds and are more likely to cast their vote in future elections. In addition, the act of registering to vote can be daunting for new voters. By providing young voters with more information and resources to help them to register to vote, young voters are more likely to follow through and vote. Currently, MMSD does not have the requirement of taking a government or civics class in order to graduate from high school. While there is a civics test requirement, the test does not involve current events nor the mechanics of voting. Adding this graduation requirement makes sure that MMSD students would have a civics education and a basic understanding of the power that their vote and voice holds. While a graduation requirement is not likely to occur in the near future, by encouraging students to learn more about their government and voting, you can inspire someone to become a voter and increase youth voter turnout. For more information on how to register to vote, visit myvote.wi.gov. If you are eligible to register, all you need is five minutes and a valid ID, such as a driver’s license. |