Image via Auzzy Byrdsell

By: Mira Donaldson, Staff Writer 

Elections bring the energy of tension and commotion as people rush to advocate for leaders that will bring the desired impact they wish to see for their communities. This past week held one of the first local election days of the upcoming election this year in Atlanta, Georgia. This election was a local election for Atlanta where constituents had the choice to vote for either school board, city council and even Mayor. 

Many students and constituents in general do not understand the implications of state and local elections. Ryann Rippey, a Spelman College Student, and a Spelman-Morehouse College prelaw society executive board member and said this about the importance of local elections.

When people think about elections, they primarily think about presidential, or congressional, yet, local elections are just as impactful and can lead to have an even more direct impact of the everyday experience you may live due to political leaders

“They are the forefront of the presidential elections, and what happens on the state and local level influences what will happen to choosing who our next president will be,” Rippey said.

 Rippey gave another example of what these implications may look like in her home town of Ohio. 

“I know Ohio, in my home state, those [Affirmative Action and Abortion] are something that is huge on the ballot right now.”Rippey said

Ohio voted in putting in Abortion rights into their state constitution, showing how imperative it is, to understand what is going on locally, to make an impact on a greater scale.

 With the AUC being host to many students of all demographics personally and geographically, the knowledge and political attitudes of this local election were diverse.

“I don’t have that much optimism if I am being honest,” Madison Riles, a Spelman College student said. “I would hope to make an impact, but my state is primarily conservative so it’s really hard to get everyone on the same page, as far as a more liberal point of view.”

Some students felt like they knew more about the political landscape from their home towns rather than here in Atlanta and that it was hard to understand what was going on because of that.  

Yet, even though they carry a variety of feelings with the upcoming elections, the legacy of student activism and self-determination is still manifested within the walls of the Atlanta University Center. 

Adet Abney, a Student at Clark Atlanta, hopes to get involved and learn more in the future, wanting more programming that will focus more on local than national elections. 

Not only is this spirit of social justice activism withheld in the students themselves, but it’s confirmed by them learning from leadership around them, hopefully preparing them to be great civil contributors. 

“A lot of things that I have been told from professors is that a lot of the work comes from ourselves,” Rippey said. “If we want to see a change in our communities, we have to be the people who start that change.”

Copy Edited by: Justin Darden, News and Politics Editor