The First Wave.....

Gotta love a PSA! The State has a couple of responses to my letter about 17 year olds and the vote. I'll mine through the other
periodicals given some time after their publication.

In regard to Mattheus Mei's letter Friday (“Some 17-year-olds are eligible to vote”), I don’t know what the schools are currently doing, but
when I was a 17-year-old high school senior at Andrew Jackson High School in the fall of 1979, I was given the opportunity at school to become a registered voter so that I could vote in the primary in January 1980.

Most of us took advantage of that opportunity 28 years ago, so I assumed that this was a common practice by now. It really is a shame if it’s not, because that event made such an impact on me that I’ve not missed a single presidential or gubernatorial election since.

I did learn in school what an honor it is to live in a democratic nation and the importance of voting, especially as a woman. I’m thankful for my teachers and my alma mater for giving me that opportunity and instilling in me the importance of voting.

ANITA
WOOD
Lexington

and....

In response to Mattheus Mei's letter, at Lexington High School, this past week, we registered more than 100 new young, first-time voters so that they could indeed participate in the primaries next month.

This was a bipartisan effort led by the Lexington High School Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs.

I am confident that this has taken place in many other high schools around the Midlands and the state. At Lexington, we have taken a proactive approach in educating our students about their civic responsibilities and provided them with the knowledge that they can use to become informed, lifelong voters.
KELLY EVANS
Lexington

As Queen Greene stated to me in an e-mail, it's good to know that some people read the paper.


But even more importantly, it's good to know that by taking part in the process schools have produced more conscientious citizens. In the case of Lexington High I'd say I'm surprised they have an organization of Young Democrats and Young Republicans, but then I'm reminded that Lexington High is the size of a small Liberal Arts College, and that despite being a county school, it's a sight more Urban (I would add Urbane, but that's a stretch) than say Lee County, or even the schools in Cheraw that I attended.


And unfortunately I must disagree with Ms. Evans, South Carolina is still a rural state, and though it's wonderful that in Urban Centers that this is normative, I don't believe it's normative in other areas of the state. Yes Ms. Wood did attend AJH which is in Kershaw county but I believe this was the end of an era as it were, because it's with in the 80's that you see the paralysis and apathy of Youth begin.

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