Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
St. John’s Political Education Club (SPEC) is a club that is focused on educating the student body of St. John’s School with unbiased information. People have been increasingly forming their political opinions based on that of their party, rather than choosing their party based on their opinions. Thus, our overarching goal for the club is to inform people about current political events in a non-partisan fashion, to equip students with the tools to form their own personal opinions, and to inspire student engagement with both politics and public policy. By hosting forums, speakers, debates, and more, we are able to stimulate student discourse throughout the St. John’s community, encouraging people to create their own opinions based on the information they learn at our meetings. Once equipped with information, our website (www.specsjs.com) and magazine (PerSPECtives) give students a platform to express their own political opinions. In America’s polarized political landscape, we want to have a positive political impact that not only engages young people with politics, but also gives them the tools they need to make real change in the world.
President
Piper Edwards – kedwards@sjs.org
Vice-Presidents
Charlotte Curtin – ccurtin@sjs.org
Syd Hammerman – shammerman@sjs.org
Grade Representatives
12: Thomas Grannen, Andrew Sall, Alexander Adrogue, & Martin Schumacher
11: Fareen Dhuka, Lindsey Price, Kushal Kandel, Jenny Green, & Emile Vlahos
10: Afraaz Malick, Elisabeth Marrek, Liv Rubenstein, Aatiqah Aziz, Reyna-Gabrielle Ngu, Lexie Leitner, Katie Wasserman, Dian Yu, Eleanor Kershner, Zoe Hirshfeld, & Chloe Zhao
9: Lilly Price, Lia Symer, Addison Spiegel, Wilson Bailey, Katya Bigman, Veda Chilakapati, Jay Love, Kaitlyn Miller, Benjamin PlanaTrajtenberg
Founders
Jackson Edwards – jaedwards@sjs.org or jackson@specsjs.com
Jack Trent – jtrent@sjs.org or jack@specsjs.com
Sponsor
Mr. Russell Hardin – rhardin@sjs.org