News Corner

By Arthur Didinsky

            The State of the Union was like any other day for me. I woke up at 6am, I got on the Metro, and headed to the Capitol to start my work day. On a normal day, the Capitol grounds is free for the public to roam, but today there were fences. Fences which were heavy duty unlike the typical protest barricades.

Rockville Mayor and Council Public Hearing on allowing the 16-year-olds

and noncitizens to vote in Rockville elections.

February 6, 2023,

I am Brigitta Mullican, a 57-year Rockville citizen whose parents had to wait 5 years before they were eligible to become a citizen.  I had to be 18 to complete my U.S. naturalization status. Voting is a privilege.

I strongly oppose allowing 16-year-old and non-citizens to vote in the Rockville Elections.

If you think age 16 is ok, why not consider 15?  There are restrictions for 16-year-old drivers and there are good reasons for that.

Young adults under 18 are the responsibility of parents. Experts say that 16- and 17-year-olds demonstrate a lower interest in politics, have less political knowledge, and lack the real-life experience needed to participate in the elections. Some social scientist state 16- and 17-year-olds wouldn’t be competent voters because “research in neuroscience suggests that the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is still undergoing major reconstruction and development during the teenage years,’ and added that the prefrontal cortex is what “enable us to weigh dilemmas, balance trade-offs and, in short make reasonable decisions in politics.”

People under 18 are subject to different labor, contract, and criminal responsibility laws, and are not allowed to join the military without parental consent or serve on a jury. Most are still living at home and would be influenced by the voting choices of their parents.

The 18-29 age group has extremely low voter turnout numbers, suggesting that people aren’t ready to vote until later in life.

The City of Takoma Park reported that 66 of the 138 registered 16/17-year-old voters actually voted in November.

There are 524 Rockville registered voters at the age of 16-17 according to the MC BOE. Is this the number you want voting in our Rockville election?

The vast majority of Americans of all ages and political views agree that 16-year-olds should not be given the right to vote. There is a survey that found 8% support lowering the voting age to 16. Talking to voters in Rockville, I did not hear overwhelming support for lowering the voting age in fact they believe it is a crazy idea.

Please oppose allowing 16-year-old and noncitizens to vote in Rockville Elections.

EQUITY IS BAD POLICY

By Hessie Harris

Some Virginia High School Asian students were not informed that they had the distinction of scoring in the top 3% of the nation on the  PSAT, the college entrance exam.  Such accomplishment enhanced their chances of early acceptance into elite colleges and receiving other significant scholastic perks. The reason given by the schools for the delay/failure was to prevent other students, who did not score as highly. “from feeling bad” or “having hurt feelings. 

The question is, What is a respectable score on the exam? Clearly if not only the top 3% got into college, but higher education could not be sustained. 

What occurred in Virginia represents discrimination against high achieving Asian students and the bigotry of low expectations against the rest to maintain the illusion of equity.

Were the schools really concerned about an expected huge gap, they could have informed the students of the self-help available to them. The information is on the internet. Performance is improved by awareness and preparation. Informing all students would avoid an allegation of stigmatization.

On-line, there are free articles that give tips, advice and instruction on taking the entrance exam.  Also, there are reasonably priced “How-To” manuals listed that include more such information AND practice exams.  Those manuals are also available in local bookstores.  In addition, there are mini prep courses available for students who will be taking the exam.  They are of various prices.  However, surely Fairfax County ‘s budget could include funds to pay for or subsidize the cost if need be.

That contrast, with times gone by when such resources  were not available to Black students who, by law or policy, attended segregated schools  and lived in segregated  neighborhoods where there were no bookstores   Black students  were not welcome in areas where they did exist.

Black students were not told of prep resources, and neither were their teachers or school administrators.  All that was known was that “there was this test” that had to taken  to get into college.  However, they could not “study” for it as it was a reflection of all they had learned to date.

One student, of working-class parents, simply could not accept that there was a test that could not be prepared for. After walking nearly a mile over unpaved ground to the “local library”, the very tired student asked at the Information Desk if there were ANY BOOKS on test taking.

The employee smiled brightly and pointed to a shelf of large leather bound books. But a comparatively small white brand-new paperback book titled “How To Take Standardized Tests” was incongruously at the front of the shelf.

The student sat down and read it for several hours.   The first section was titled “Number Series”.   The reason that was so memorable was because that was also the first section of the entrance exam.  After the exam, students congregated outside the exam room.  Most were shaken and upset   They were not ignorant but just had never been exposed to the concept of number series.   The student, also an avid reader, scored over 250 points higher than peers. No, the score was not in the top 3% but respectable enough for college admission.  That student was yours truly.

__________

Hessie  L. Harris is a Member of the Maryland Republican Central Committee from Montgomery County