Student Reflections: Why We Vote

PERSONAL ESSAYS ON the Importance of our Vote

By Ava Rumsey, Class of 2025

At Harpeth Hall, I am grateful to have the freedom to discover and use my voice. As the presidential election approaches, I’ve realized that the ultimate use of our voices lies in the right to vote. Voting is every citizen’s way to have a say in society’s important decisions. It is the bedrock of a Democracy.

I’ve come to appreciate the power of the vote by reflecting on underrepresented groups, like women, who had to fight for the right. My generation has not experienced a time where women could not vote, so many of us take this right for granted. But in seventh-grade history, we learned about the women of the suffrage movement, including Ward Seminary’s Anne Dallas Dudley. These brave women dedicated their lives to fighting for women’s rights. They marched in rallies, spoke at conferences, and made incredible sacrifices for the sake of a better future. For decades, women had no say in the decisions that affected their lives. They had no voice. After women earned the right to vote, they showed the world how powerful their voices could be. However, it wasn’t until the 1965 Voting Rights Act that all women, including women of color, were able to freely exercise their right to vote. The women of the suffrage movement fought for us to have a voice, and now we owe it to them and ourselves to use that voice and vote. Voting is how we create change in the world around us.

Although I’m not of voting age yet, I am aware of the serious issues that impact me and others. Racial and gender equality, healthcare, and climate change are some of the current topics that inspire me to speak out. In four years, I look forward to having a say in all of these matters. In the fall of my senior year, I will be heading to the polls for the first time to vote in the 2024 Presidential election. I can’t wait. I intend to use my voice and vote.

By Mary Meacham, Class of 2023

On a cold March morning, decades after hundreds of Black Americans marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a stand for equal voting rights, I watched as Representative John Lewis settled himself onto the same spot where he had been beaten and bloodied 55 years before. Filling the air around us came the voice of Juandalynn Abernathy, daughter of civil rights activist and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy. “Oh freedom. Oh freedom. Over me, over me,” she sang.

This message of freedom was prevalent as my family and I joined an annual pilgrimage to commemorate the struggle for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Together, we crossed the very bridge where Martin Luther King Jr., Representative Lewis, and other Black Americans had been brutally attacked as they attempted to walk from Selma to Montgomery to reach Alabama’s state capitol.

We, as Americans, have a duty to those who came before us. We must vote for the men and women who bled, cried, and clawed for their own right to cast a ballot without racial discrimination. We must vote to honor the past, and prepare for our future. Our greatest freedom as Americans is our vote. We have been given a voice in our democracy that needs to be put to use. If we want to see a change in our country, we need to take the steps to make that change. We must vote.

Battling cancer, Representative Lewis stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge one final time that March day in 2020. For Lewis, the battle of justice was still unfolding. “Tear gas. Bull-whip. On this bridge, some of us gave a little blood to help redeem the soul of America. Our country is a better country. We are better people, but we still have a distance to travel… before we get there,” Lewis preached. As the words escaped his mouth, the crowd was silent. We needed to know what the political giant before us, who had seen the darkest days of our country, felt was the next step for us today. His advice was clear, “I tell you, each of us, members of congress. When we go back to Washington during the next few days and weeks, we’ve got to see that all of our people get out and vote like we never voted before.” His voice, deep and bold, echoed off the bridge.

Representative Lewis did not stand alone. To his right, was his friend and colleague Nancy Pelosi — our Speaker of the House. It was clear to me in that moment that it was only 100 years ago that Speaker

Pelosi, and I, had been granted the right to vote. Standing there, on that bridge, a black man and white woman encouraged their audience to exercise the right to vote.

It is the image of a suffragette being jailed or a civil rights activist being beaten that reminds us that rather than a gift, voting is an obligation that we must never take for granted. This country needs our voices. It needs our votes. As Lewis said, “We have a lot of work to do. So don’t get weary! Keep the faith!”

The work of Harpeth Hall’s Center for Civic Engagement continues to gain momentum as its faculty leaders develop tools and resources to support productive and reasoned dialogue on public issues.

The Center For Civic Engagement Focuses On Three Key Areas:

• Information Literacy

• Active Citizenship

• Civic Education

The most recent work of the Center for Civic Engagement is Harpeth Hall's Statement on Campus Discourse. First used by Bonnie Moses in her Upper School history classes, the Academic Council reviewed the statement this fall and it will be introduced to all of our students to ensure they are aware of the crucial role civic discourse plays in a democracy.

The Harpeth Hall Statement on Campus Discourse Informed and open discourse is an integral component of a Harpeth Hall education and an essential characteristic of responsible citizenship. Abiding by the Harpeth Hall Difficult Dialogues Guidelines, students explore, understand, and critically examine their own beliefs as well as alternative or opposing beliefs. Thoughtful consideration of multiple perspectives and stories encourages empathy and prepares students to participate constructively in these dialogues both in the classroom and in the public sphere.

While freedom of speech is a fundamental First Amendment right, this constitutional protection does not extend to abusive or hateful speech in a school environment. Such speech violates the Harpeth Hall Values Statement and undermines our educational mission. However, students must be aware that arguments that challenge their point of view or their world view are not necessarily hateful arguments, and these conflicts often provide important opportunities for growth.

The ability to engage in meaningful civic discourse requires a commitment to strengthening our relationships with each other. As we engage in these critical dialogues, all members of the Harpeth Hall community will work together to create a vibrant and respectful intellectual environment that values diversity of thought and difference of opinion. In so doing, we will demonstrate our faith in the promise and potential of American democracy.