Lawrence High-Schoolers Urg 18-year-olds To Vote
By Scott Schudy
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
It’s an axiom in political circles: Old people vote. Young people don’t.
But a 17-year-old Lawrence High School senior, with the help of several classmates, is trying to change that.
I would like to take a chance and prove those people wrong and show that young people are interested in voting and getting out to vote,” said LHS senior Kate Mather
By Tim Carpenter News Journal
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2002
Kansas legislators beware:
Summer Draney and Supriya Ghorpade are angry and headed your
way.
These Lawrence eighth-graders said Tuesday they're among
nearly 100 Southwest Junior High School students willing to
rally on the Capitol steps to protest what they see as inadequate
state funding of public education.
"We don't think it's right that education is getting the bum end
of the deal," Draney said.
Ghorpade said a convoy of school buses would carry students
to a "March on the Capitol" next Wednesday or Thursday for
old-fashioned poster waving and speeches. The focus of their
ire is reluctance by the 2002 Legislature to support tax increases
that generate money for public school districts.
Insufficient funding from the state may trigger cuts in the
Lawrence district's budget that jeopardize the quality of
students' education, Ghorpade said.
"I like small classes," she said.
Rally supporters at Southwest issued a call to arms on fliers distributed after classes: "Do you
want to protest? Do you want to fight for your rights? Would you go all the way? If the answer is
yes to all of those questions, come to the protest in Topeka. Come unite and fight for this cause."
A sweet touch to the campaign is an after-school bake sale Monday to raise money for rental of
bus transportation to and from Topeka, Ghorpade said.
The student protesters will be at the Statehouse during school hours, and if they produce a note
from a parent, the students' time mixing it up with political pros will count as an excused absence.
"This is a serious attempt to change minds," Draney said.
Eighth-graders at Southwest came up with the idea for a rally during an American history class
discussion about the Lawrence school funding crisis. School board members are scrambling to
identify as much as $5 million in budget cuts or revenue enhancements.
The possible hit list includes staff working in special education, nursing, counseling, kindergarten,
foreign language, music and extracurricular programs. The district is considering a pay-to-ride
bus system and pay-to-play sports program.
Students in the group at Southwest represent a broad constituency.
Ghorpade is disturbed that fewer teachers may translate into larger class sizes, while some
students in the group are agitated by a proposal to eliminate intramural sports. The idea of
dropping junior high school cheerleading has upset some students.
Draney's cause is personal. She's upset the district may cut $140,000 that supports the WRAP
program (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) at district schools. WRAP staff help
counsel students grappling with issues that get in the way of learning.
In Draney's case, she was depressed because three relatives and her best friend died and her
mother suffered a serious illness.
"I've been in WRAP," she said. "My mother had breast cancer. I needed someone to talk to."
Indeed, Draney is serious about making her voice heard in the Capitol. She'll let the chips fall
where they may.
"I've not been involved in a protest or anything before," she said. "If this doesn't work, at least we
tried."
Students Protest Incoming President
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