November 4, 2024 Volume 8, Issue 2 @thenuevacurrent
The Student Newspaper of The Nueva School San Mateo, California
Civic Duties Eligible voters in the Class of 2025 surround a ballot box. PHOTOS AND COLLAGE BY ETHAN H.
Facing the Vote America will choose between very different futures tomorrow. What questions remain for Nueva and its voting population? By Jackson H. Staff Writer & Gabriel B. Features Editor
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Inside this Issue:
ueva’s first presidential election had been an upset. Donald Trump’s win in 2016 was without precedent in recent history, a political outsider overcoming a massive polling deficit on a platform far outside of orthodoxy. Located in the solidly Democratic Bay Area, the consensus view on campus had been that Hillary Clinton was a president-in-waiting. “People were looking at Nate Silver’s model and were shocked at Trump having even a one-in-three chance,” said Upper School Math teacher Liam McDonald ’19, who was then a sophomore. “I think that election really broke students’ sense of certainty about politics.” The day after Trump’s election, many students returned to campus still shocked by the surprise outcome the night before. The business-as-usual plan for that day had been disrupted.
Bay Meadows Parking Ban A new ban on parking surrounding the San Mateo campus may upend student commuting.
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“We got very little done,” McDonald recalled. “In a lot of my classes, we just talked about the election.” Eight years later, the country has been through two tumultuous presidencies, increasing polarization, the overturning of century-old legal and political precedents, all without mentioning a global pandemic and American involvement in new wars in Europe and the Middle East. The 2024 race gives America a choice between starkly different candidates. But closer to home, school administration and of-age voters in the senior class will have to make difficult decisions on how to engage with what promises to be a highly contentious election.
I. Senior Voters
19 seniors in the Class of 2025 are eligible to vote in the Nov. 5 general election. Among them, there is a palpable
Review: Intermezzo Sally Rooney’s latest book precipitates a meditative shift away from her typical subjects, as its title suggests.
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awareness of this election’s prominence as a historical event. “I’m excited because it’s my first time voting, but also because this is an election that a lot of people have been anticipating. People are calling it one of the most important elections of our history,” said Margot S. ’25, who turned 18 in September. Carly B. ’25, who plans to vote for Harris, values the opportunity to uphold the principles behind voting and voice what she stands for regardless of her influence over the result. “I’m very excited to get to vote for a woman for my first time voting,” Carly said. “My family and I are very pro-voting. Even if we’re in California and everything is probably going to go Democrat, I think it’s an important part of being active in our community.” In 2020, President Joe Biden earned
Teachers Taking Nueva Classes As students in various Nueva classes, teachers gain insight and develop new skills.
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Student Standoff: The End of California Legacy Admissions How effective will the ban on legacy admissions actually be?
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a 5 million vote margin over Trump in California. The assumption of a similar landslide win for Harris in the state can lead to the conclusion that, under the Electoral College system, individual Bay Area voters possess virtually no power over the presidential contest. A lack of influence on the result is indeed a source of apathy for some of the seniors who are headed to the ballot box. “California is going blue [Democratic], so I don’t really care about voting for president,” said San Francisco voter Jackson L. ’25. Swain M. ’25 will complete his ballot too, but echoed Jackson's view. “Voting in the presidential election doesn’t really do anything in the Bay Area,” he said.
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Bay FC Debut With the arrival of a new NWSL team to the bay, excited fans await an action-packed season.
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