Politicians In-Person: Youth and Government Club is hosting its annual political panel with the hope of educating students about political topics from the perspective of bipartisan politicians

Youth and Government Club is holding its annual political panel where local politicians will answer political questions from students in the Little Theatre on April 23 during seminar.

Students will be able to submit questions in advance on a Google form available on the club’s Instagram page, @smeyouthandgov, two weeks before the panel. The Youth and Government Board will decide what questions are chosen based on the frequency of the questions and their relevance to current events, according to YAG co-leader and senior Emma Krause.

“The panel is a pretty unique opportunity,” YAG co-leader and senior Eve Benditt said. “I don’t think anything similar is really offered at other schools [in] Shawnee Mission or otherwise. It’s a really awesome chance for people to have these direct conversations.”

Last year, the panel consisted of three local Democrats who answered the pre-written questions on topics like abortion and gun rights. This year, the club wants to have both Democratic and Republican politicians present on the panel since the club is bipartisan. However, according to Benditt, getting Republicans to come has been a struggle due to their busy schedules and the fact that the Johnson County area is blue.

“It’s so important to have a balanced perspective at an event like this,” Benditt said. “It’s really easy to say this is a dark blue area so all we want to hear from are people who are Democrats, but you can’t only hear from people that agree with you, it’s just going to reinforce preconceived notions.”

Senior Maddie Doyle plans to attend the panel to learn more about local politicians and educate herself on certain topics. Doyle believes Republicans should come to the panel because East still has a significant amount of right-leaning students and she’s concerned about potential repetitiveness in the session if no Republicans attend. 

“I’m afraid that it’s just gonna be redundant policies and agreements,” Doyle said. “Although agreements are good to an extent when it comes to politics, it can be pretty difficult because people can become really one-sided. So without having a Republican there to contrast the high-yielding Democrats, it’s really just gonna be a one-sided lecture.”

The club has chosen to hold the panel on April 23 because that’s when the Senate will be in recess— taking a break in a trial, other adjudicatory proceedings, or legislative session — according to Benditt. This will allow politicians to have room in their schedule for the panel. However, this means the panel will happen at the same time as the Multicultural Fair, which might make students miss one to go to the other. Although the situation is not what Benditt wants, the club has no choice because all other available times are during Senate sessions.

Students will be able to enter and leave quietly throughout the panel to be able to see the Multicultural Fair as well, but the panel won’t have any intermissions or breaks.

Some social studies teachers like Brenda Fishman and Ben Hendricks are also offering extra credit to students who attend the panel. Fishman’s students can complete handwritten notes about the discussion for five points of extra credit. 

“It’s really good to generate interest in local and state elections because those are the ones that really affect us,” Fishman said. “Kids need to understand that local elections are really significant. The local stuff really affects us [because] you’re talking about your roads or schools for the most of the taxes.”

With many seniors being able to vote in the upcoming November election, the panel will give them more information and perspective through meeting politicians in person, according to Doyle.

“This panel will be influential in who I vote for, and also in just educating myself,” Doyle said. “Seeing them in person will help with the cognitive biases from family and friends who are saying [politicians] not the best’ and actually connect with them on like a human level.”

Although the panel helps prepare seniors for their first opportunity to vote in elections, student-picked topics the politicians discuss will still be beneficial to underclassmen.

“Honestly, there’s no one at East who isn’t going to benefit from the panel,” Benditt said. “I think that the younger [students] can get involved [and become] more well-rounded voters at the polls in a few years.”