Crashing the Party
To the Presidential Candidates, Press, and Pundits of 2016:
We had never tried to make fake IDs before. But last Tuesday as we were surrounded by scissors, laminate, and photo-copies of our school pictures, that was liable to change.
Just another underage attempt to sneak into a swanky bar?
Well, not this time. Our goal was a swanky political event: the Republican Presidential Debate. We’d been denied press passes to the GOP debate three times, and we were desperate.
In the debates leading up to the New Hampshire Primary and the speeches on the night of the election, none of the candidates had mentioned any clear plan for education. It didn’t matter who won because one constituency had already lost: students.
But there’s hope.
Surely candidates can’t ignore the condition of many schools in the Palmetto state’s infamous Corridor of Shame. Surely, it will be hard for pundits to blame the fact that schools are physically and spiritually crumbling to “Obama-core” or student loan debt. And surely, it won’t escape the notice of the media that the students in these schools are, unsurprisingly, predominately black.
Education matters. It is one of the most effective drivers of workforce development. It is one of the most accurate indicators of economic prosperity. It is the key to American success in this increasingly globally connected world, and it is the cornerstone of a healthy, engaged citizenry.
We have been trying to submit this question for consideration in the upcoming Republican primary debate in Greenville South Carolina:
“South Carolina was the site of a court case that led to Brown v. Board of Education. It is also home to a stretch of neglected rural schools known as the “Corridor of Shame.” In recent weeks, hundreds of South Carolina teenagers have been voting on a Student Voice Student Bill of Rights that would guarantee the right to a meaningful education in a 21st century America. Name one specific improvement — not something you’d take away but an improvement that you’d make — in America’s education system.”
We as a nation must have a plan.
Students across the nation are looking to you to stand with us. While gaining access to presidential debates has been a near impossible challenge for students like us, YOUR attendance seems to be required.
Starting Saturday February 13th, Student Voice, a national student-run non-profit, will be on the ground in South Carolina. You won’t see us in the debates unless we can get these IDs forged in enough time; however, you will see us in the plaintiff school districts of South Carolina’s infamous Corridor of Shame school equity case Abbeville County School District, et al. v. the State of South Carolina.
Our goal is to amplify the voices of students who are too often relegated to the margin. We invite you all — candidates and members of the media — to join us. Come, listen to their stories and witness the often overlooked role that students and their voices can play in helping improve our schools.
No press pass necessary. #EducationMatters
Andrew & Merrit
Merrit Jones is a Senior at River Bluff High School in South Carolina and is the Executive Director of Student Space. Merrit@stuspace.org
Andrew Brennen is a Sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill and the National Field Director of Student Voice. Andrew@stuvoice.org
