Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.

I’ve had the privilege of being a senior during both the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. Despite not being old enough to vote in 2020, I’ve noticed there is a large difference in how the election is being brought up now in my classes compared to when I was in high school, with many of my peers entering their first-ever national election as eligible voters.

A few important things to note before this article continues are what my political landscape looked like in both years. I went to a public high school in southern Colorado, which can tend to lean conservative while also trying to be neutral. I graduated from high school in 2021, so it was the height of the COVID-19 era when this was all happening.

Now I am a journalism student minoring in women’s studies at Colorado State University. I tend to analyze certain issues like politics in classes, but they aren’t the focus.

“When I was in high school, I never saw anything that would help students be more informed about the election and the choices they were making.”

During my senior year of high school, I took two classes that mildly discussed politics: English and American government. However, during my senior year, more of the discussion around political issues was done in my English class than in my government class.

In high school, whenever we were discussing anything political, we were mostly gaining a basic understanding of how our government works, often being asked to do research ourselves and present to the class. In case anyone hasn’t recently taken a class full of individual research, that meant that a lot of our conversations were tailored to our own beliefs on the topics.

The issue with understanding what I learned in high school compared to what I learned in college is that I only remember two things being brought up during my government class that related to politics. One discussion centered on Ruth Bader Ginsburg after she died and her impact on the U.S. Supreme Court, including how her seat would likely be filled. Another concerned the events at the United States Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.

I don’t remember at any point talking about the ballot or what was being discussed. Honestly, the most I remember from my K-12 schooling that related to the ballot was in 8th grade when my teacher showed us her ballot and talked through it with us. The only issue was none of us could vote.

As a college student, I am now not only old enough to properly inform myself, but in my classes, we are actually having conversations about our current political climate, especially as it relates to the current presidential candidates and immigration.

As I am a student who is taking classes focused on identities and how certain aspects of media can be impactful, my professors try their best to make it clear they aren’t supporting any specific political party. Regardless, I get to learn more about how immigrants are perceived in the media, the importance identity plays in the current election and especially how certain candidates like former President Donald Trump are using their media to present themselves as the ideal candidate.

I’m also getting to learn more about how I can use my personal learning to my benefit in the upcoming election.

Not only can I use my own learning to impact and have a large influence on my future, but I’m also fortunate enough to have sources like The Collegian’s voting guide and places on campus that will help me better understand and explain the political process.

When I was in high school, I never saw anything that would help students be more informed about the election and the choices they were making. Maybe that’s because it was a COVID year and nobody was quite sure what was going on. Or maybe it’s because of where I went to high school, but either way, there was no true support in helping me and my classmates be more informed as voters.

With new voters turning 18 every day, it’s very important for high school classes to try to show more support for those young voters, especially considering that Generation Z is perceived to have a large impact on this year’s election.

Reach Dominique Lopez at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @caffeinateddee6.