The importance of challenging one’s perspective BY OSCAR NOLF Sports Editor
This year’s club day featured fewer clubs than years previous to the pandemic; one of the clubs that did not have a table this year was t h e Young Republican Club. The Young Republican Club was formed to give students a place to talk about Republican issues and beliefs following the 2016 election. But shortly after its creation, the club ceased to exist. A multitude of people at Sequoia, including myself, believe that one of the main reasons for the short lifespan of the club is More then the students’ reluctancy to challenge others’ of the ideas. Clubs are votes in the last a chance to election were for e x p e r i e n c e new things and a Democrat in ideas with other San Mateo people, as well as a chance to find County a community of things you enjoy. From the lego club to the business club, the wide variety of clubs at Sequoia helps students explore these ideas. “It only existed as a young Republicans club for one year and then maybe two more years as a political debate club,” teacher Bradley Ramezane said. At Sequoia, we are taught that we need to be inclusive and treat everyone with respect, even if other’s ideas are different from ours.
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“We’re told to be open minded all the time so to actually put that into action would be to join a club for the political minority of the Bay Area, and I just wanted to hear their perspectives on things,” senior Wilson Crum said, a former member of the club. According to the County of San Mateo, 77.9% of people in the county voted for President Biden in the last election while 20.2% voted for former President Trump. The percentage of people who voted for a Republican in 2016, when the club was created, was even lower at 18.4%. Ramezane argued that “[there are] kids that may be politically involved but they’re not going out to challenge ideas, they’re just going in a way to reinforce [these] ideas”. He pointed out that one of the root causes of this is the education system. “I think one fault we’ve had, not here at Sequoia specifically, but in education overall, is we haven’t presented [the] idea of challenging ideas,” Ramezane said. “I think there’s a certain anxiety or fear about being part of that challenge.” While we are presented with different views on things at Sequoia, they almost always
are not too far from the common liberal values that people at Sequoia hold. We, as students, cannot grow both intellectually and as people
“I think the most important thing [is that the Young Republican Club] made me realize is that no matter your political beliefs, we’re all just people” Wilson Crum, senior if we only engage with like minded people, on the same topics we already believe in. Having a conversation with someone who’s views you disagree with, or learning about a way of thought which contrasts yours; these are incredibly powerful ways to learn as well as broaden one’s perspective.
