Even if you are too young to vote, it is never too early to get involved in politics and help educate your peers. Last year, Turning Point was brought to the high school to inform and raise political awareness. Turning Point meets on the second Tuesday every month with an average attendance of 15 people so far.
Turning Point’s whole objective is to meet and discuss what they like about the United States right now as well as the upcoming election. It’s a way of seeing everyone’s political perspectives and having everyone’s voice be heard. Since the voter registration count has been so low this year, Turning Point hosted a car wash on Sept. 17 to get more people registered to vote and to raise money for the organization.
Junior Indigo Teufel, a new member of Turning Point, had no idea what the organization was until her friends mentioned it. Since the organization has not been at the school very long, not a ton of people are aware of what Turning Point does.
“I feel like not a lot of people know about the Turning Point, I mean I had no idea what it is until my friend talked about it. I really hope to know what it is because it’s really educational and good for you. Even if you don’t know or want to know more or work on your insights, it’s a really great place to go.”
Politics are not always the most favorite topic to talk about in school, nevertheless students have found a way to try and educate their peers and share opinions without altercations. “I joined because I wanted to help educate people on the government and our constitution because I feel like not a lot of kids know about it. And I grew up in a household that’s very political and very history based,”Senior Madison Palmer, secretary of TPUSA said. Turning point is not only about politics but simply to educate adolescents on what is going on in the world.
Seniors Paul Havemeier, the vice president of TPUSA, and Jacob Domann who is the president of TPUSA work together to lead the meetings.
“ I help him hang up posters around the school and help at the meetings that we have on the second Tuesday of every month.” Havemeier said.
Domann found Turning Point and thought it was a great way to educate students about the political world.
“Well I discovered Turning Point in February, and before you get school recognized, they call it an activism hub. So I kind of just had that, Domann said and then we were in charge of finding a meeting space, so we met at the police station for a while, then over the summer, I worked with the admin to try and get it at the high school. Just so we can get more kids involved from the school and just make it more of a bigger thing.”
Turning Point can be found in over 3,500 schools around the United states. Their mission is “Turning Point guides citizens through development of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation, so they can meaningfully engage in their communities to restore traditional American values like patriotism, respect for life, liberty, family, and fiscal responsibility,” according to their website.
