A tradition practiced in newspaper since the class began is the “Taking Sides” column. Two former AP Government students, always seniors, write their views and opinions about different topics each edition. This year, the columnists were Arielle Jean and Shep Slack. 

   Staying involved in politics and making sure you’re up to date with information is very important. Which is a factor in why kids take gov., it helps them stay up to date with current events and politics. 

  “I took gov. last year and I wanted to still have a way to be involved in the political conversation at West and that was just a way to do it and to continue to educate myself and keep up on issues,” Jean said.

  Once finished with high school, Jean plans to head down to Ann Arbor to attend college. 

  “I’m going to the University of Michigan [U of M] and I’m studying chemical engineering with a minor in environmental science,” Jean said. 

  Writing the column is no easy job, having to stay up to date on current political and social issues all while choosing and arguing for a clear side has created 

  “I wrote about Whitmer having the power to shut down the state, that one was kind of hard to write because it was hard to find information on whether or not that was constitutional,” Jean said. 

  Writing for the newspaper while not actually being in the class can be a difficult thing but Jean managed to balance and learn from it.

  “I think I’m going to join the newspaper at Michigan now, I didn’t think I was going to do that before because that wasn’t what I was into and I did start thinking about going into a career in journalism instead,” Jean said. 

  Having to write about your political views and share them with the whole school can be scary but as long as you have confidence in what you are writing, people will listen.

  “I would say that the pandemic definitely changed my political opinions and how I view the world but the column just kinda helped me reflect that,” Jean said.