Some Baltimore City students are not just gearing up for the first day of classes next week. They’re also preparing for their first major election as voters in November.
On Friday, Western High School became an entry site for both. New and returning students flooded the school parking lot to sign up for clubs and sports teams – and register to vote. Both “firsts” come with big decisions and the potential for change.
Aleni Lila is a rising senior at Western who’s also interning for local nonprofit Baltimore Votes. She tabled at Friday’s event to recruit students aged 16 and older to become election judges – also known as poll workers.
Lila did the training herself in the spring. She remembers walking in with her sister and being “the only people below the age of 45 in that room.”
“Most teens don't know that you can be an election judge from the age of 16, before you’re even at voting age,” she said. “Our impact is just as important as everybody else's, and this is just the start of it.”
Lila said having students at polling sites to explain the process will make it easier and more comfortable for young voters. And it will prepare them to fill out their first ballot in the future.
“We're seeing more issues in our school communities, like decreased funding,” she said. “Our school lunches are getting worse and worse, and not just in taste, but also nutritional value. And so we're hoping that we can get more representation for us and our needs in those places.”
Students are also advocating for solutions on the ground level. Lia Stearns is a rising senior who’s serving as secretary of the Associated Student Congress of Baltimore City and the president of Western’s national honors society chapter.
Stearns said organization will be a top priority while balancing multiple leadership roles and keeping up with updated policies.
District leaders implemented a new AI-based weapons detection system in all high schools last spring. And this year, school police officers will begin wearing body cameras to align with a state law that requires them in all districts by July 2025.
Stearns says students know these safety measures are “for a good cause.”
“A lot of the students have some sort of negative feeling about it,” Stearns said. “But even though we're getting a lot of complaints and negative feedback about it, we all have a consensus that it is for our safety.”
Some Baltimore charter schools began locking up cell phones last school year to better engage students in academics and socialization. City schools CEO Sonja Santelises told The Baltimore Banner that she hopes to encourage more principals to do the same this year.
And while some students praise the approach, Stearns says it’s necessary to have access for certain situations.
“Even though we do get on our phones as a distraction, it's still a tool for us,” Stearns said. “We still have to contact our parents. We have to have rides after school. We have to plan what our day is going to go through.”
Baltimore City and Baltimore County begin classes on August 26.
