Students all across the Harrisonburg City School system will have Tuesday November 8th off for election day. Though to many students this is an excuse to sleep in, some seniors at HHS see this day as an exercise in civics.  For 18 year old seniors, this is their first election. For AP US Government students, this is a term project opportunity.

Senior Raymond Hyser, who recently turned 18, will be casting his first vote this Tuesday. He is “somewhat” excited.

“This election does not matter greatly. Jack Burden [senior class mate] and I were debating this earlier and I have come to the conclusion that the Sheriff does nothing. He’s head of the police department, but should he really be elected to that position?” Hyser pondered.Classmate and fellow senior Ben Marks chimed in.

“The position should be appointed from within the police force,” Marks said.  Hyser agreed.

AP Government teacher Kris Vass disagrees with Marks and Hyser. He argues that the local elections are more important than many realize; they affect resident’s day-to-day lives.

“[People] should [vote], but they hardly pay attention. If this were during a presidential election year, it would get more attention,” Vass said.

Vass is offering campaign volunteerism as a project option to his AP Government class. He wants students to have a first hand experience in politics.

“I want them to experience some of the weird voting laws like no campaign t-shirts at the polling station and having to stand so many feet away from the voting booth so as not to pressure the voter.  I also want them to see how many people actually turn out for local elections and experience people’s reactions to being handed a campaign flyer,” Vass said.

hhsmedia.com will have more on the Harrisonburg-Rockingham elections soon.