Monday, October 9, 2000
Page 1A
Not politics as usual for some local teens
Some West High Sudents form a group devoted
to ideas outside the mainstream.
Students at West High School forming a political awareness group called Politics As Unusual say they are not discouraged simply because they are not yet old enough to vote.
The group, conceived and led by West High senior Nate Kieso, plans to serve as a forum in which high school students can talk about ideologies that the Democratic- and Republican-dominated political system does not acknowledge.
Kieso said as the year progresses, the group hopes to start publication of a political journal to be distributed school-wide to keep students informed of both national and international current events.
The organization has already been in touch with various political organizations on the UI campus, such as Students for Nader, with whom it would like to participate in educational and activist work within the Iowa City community.
"We would like to do volunteer work with the Green Party and other liberal associations," Kieso said.
UI graduate student Jeff Charis-Carlson, the chairman of UI Students for Nader, said he supports the group's efforts to get high school students involved in the political process early in life, adding that his organization would be happy to work with the students.
"To learn about the issues that affect the world now will make them better-informed citizens in the future," he said. "That they want to consider more than just the usual politics shows they are already thinking outside the box, and this will allow them to make political choices based on what they want and not on what they fear."
The group grew out of U.S. government classes and the weekly Amnesty International meetings that the group's founding members attended, said Brady Shutt, the group's faculty supervisor.
"The students first expressed interest in the discussion of socialist ideas," he said. "But soon they came to realize that there were other political parties and ideologies beyond just that one that students are never exposed to."
West High Principal Jerry Arganbright said that although the school does not officially recognize political groups, he likes to think of West High as a place where students are very conscious of politics. "Being well-informed is a part of civic responsibility," he said.
"In that respect, I support this group just as I support the Young Republicans, the Young Democrats and the Close-up Club (another political awareness group at West High)."
Kieso hopes to attract other students who have thoughts to express "that are not normally getting attention from mainstream political organizations."
He sees the group both as an product of his socially conscious friends at West High and a natural outgrowth of his own political upbringing.
"My dad was a draft-dodger and my mom a far-left Democrat, so I think it was bound to happen," Kieso said. Politics As Unusual meets every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in Room 221, West High, 2901 Melrose Ave.
DI reporter Jesse Elliott can be reached at:
jesse-elliott@uiowa.edu