Should
We
Let
Politics
Become
Personal
?
Lesson
3
"
Off
and
Running
"
To
the
Editor
:
As
a
high
school
junior
,
I
have
seen
three
school
elections
,
and
this
one
is
definitely
the
best
.
Most
students
seem
involved
in
one
way
or
another
.
Election
meetings
and
activities
occur
almost
daily
.
Classrooms
are
with
posters
.
Huge
banners
have
us
to
vote
.
And
everywhere
,
excitement
hangs
in
the
air
.
What's
the
difference
?
This
year
,
the
election
is
part
of
the
curriculum
.
For
those
of
you
who
have
been
sleeping
for
the
past
two
months
,
let
me
explain
.
This
year
,
we
are
not
simply
electing
a
student
council
,
student
body
president
,
and
other
officers
.
Day
by
day
,
this
election
is
teaching
us
broader
lessons
about
government
.
That's
because
our
election
includes
many
elements
of
local
and
national
elections
.
Unfortunately
,
however
,
we're
imitating
one
element
that
doesn't
belong
in
either
arena
:
negative
campaigning
.
At
first
,
I
to
write
this
letter
.
After
all
,
the
election
began
in
such
a
positive
way
.
The
school
created
an
election
committee
,
and
,
by
my
social
studies
teacher
,
I
decided
to
join
.
The
committee
had
each
student
participate
in
a
on
school
and
national
issues
.
Each
candidate
remained
positive
through
this
process
.
However
,
this
positive
process
has
,
bogged
down
in
discussions
that
have
nothing
to
do
with
the
issues
.
Anyone
who
has
this
very
newspaper
,
the
Lincoln
High
Chronicle
,
has
seen
negative
reports
.
At
a
recent
event
,
a
reporter
questioned
how
much
Steve
McFee's
membership
on
the
basketball
team
has
taught
him
leadership
skills
.
Your
reporter
repeated
his
slogan
,
"
Team
McFee
:
A
Slam
Dunk
.
"
Then
,
she
asked
,
"
Isn't
it
true
you're
just
a
bench
player
?
"
McFee
looked
.
Things
only
got
worse
when
the
reporter
her
lungs
and
asked
,
"
If
you've
exaggerated
your
teamwork
experience
,
what
else
are
you
exaggerating
?
"
The
next
day
,
one
of
his
opponents
displayed
a
new
poster
that
read
,
"
McFee
?
Not
On
My
Team
!
"
A
few
days
later
,
McFee
fired
back
with
this
ad
:
"
Rachel
Brown
says
she'll
improve
the
cafeteria
.
But
is
she
qualified
for
the
job
?
"
The
commercial
claimed
that
campaign
workers
saw
Brown
purchasing
junk
food
at
a
convenience
store
.
The
ad
concluded
,
"
For
a
Healthy
Election
,
Junk
Rachel
Brown
.
"
Positive
slogans
have
given
way
to
sound
bites
that
spread
petty
,
personal
attacks
.
People
are
already
saying
that
these
things
do
reflect
what
goes
on
in
real
elections
?
which
is
what
our
own
election
is
all
about
.
Well
,
as
students
,
we're
taught
to
look
at
everything
with
a
critical
eye
.
We
can
learn
from
our
mistakes
?
even
if
our
leaders
can't
.
So
,
let's
do
better
than
real
politicians
:
Stop
the
negative
campaigns
.
Sincerely
,
Mia
Marshall
,
11th
Grad
e
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