Falcon Feelings Post-Election: Niko Yanai

Riverdale Review: What were some of your reasons for voting or not in this cycle? 

Niko Yanai: Well, I knew that both parties were cutting it close, so I felt like even though I live in a blue state, it was important for me to vote. Also…I kind of felt like a responsibility to because I was the first person in my entire family to be eligible to vote, so it was kind of like a responsibility but also a privilege, as the first person in my family to have an American citizenship. 

RR: What issues were on the ballot for you?

NY: I think the most important one…was the first proposition on the back of the ballot because it was talking about protecting the rights of citizens no matter race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation…and even [regardless of] pregnancy,...just any bodily autonomy.

RR: Do you think Riverdale should address politics and its implications in the classroom more than we already do? 

NY: I do think so…for my classes there weren’t really any discussions on the election at all, which I thought was surprising because… after the results, I thought everybody would be talking about it… even before the results came in….it’s important not only to know who you’re voting for but policies they’re going to implement and also the ideologies you’d be supporting if you were to vote for a specific candidate…so maybe ways for how we can research the candidates would be something that could be taught. And also sharing [with] new voters what exactly voting is going to look like because I know some people who didn’t know anything about the propositions on the back [of the ballot], so…going in and knowing what [to expect] would be a good heads up. Also…I feel like the advisories I’ve had are mostly just free periods…so maybe something that could be helpful would be to implement information sessions [on the election] during advisor [periods] especially for seniors, because…everyone is going to have to vote at some point.