by Michelle Brooks| staff writer

Attention seniors: here’s one more thing you can add to your list of ‘things I can do but no one else in the school can’. You can vote and not only that, but, the school provides the registration progress.

“One of the things that we’re required to do is do a registration drive to make sure that everybody who is of age registers to vote. And it’s really targeting our seniors in our school. So, our social studies department has basically taken the forefront in getting our kids to register,” principal John Mehlbrech said.

One of the school’s main goals is making sure students understand the process and they take advantage of their right to vote.

“The voter’s registration cards [are] out front in the welcome center, and anyone can come by and pick one up at anytime and fill it out. And then that way they’re able to register. I do know that we make several attempts to get our seniors to register cause we wanna make sure they have the right to vote,” Mehlbrech said.

Three times a year, the Bexar County registrar sends volunteers to various high schools within the county limits to talk to the eligible students about voting and get them registered to vote.

“The Bexar county registrar’s office- they send people up [to CTJ]. They have a group of people that are trained, or certified, to register people to vote for Bexar county,” government teacher Patricia Castellanos said. ” We did it last week, and they had a representative come to each class and get the kids registered. We’re gonna have another one in, I think, January and one in May, for the kids that turn 18.”

Although students who are 18 are legally eligible, and encouraged, to vote, there still seems to be a question of how significant voting really is to some people.

“All our kids at this age, as you know, pick up little tidbits. Little spots of news here and there. A little bit commercial, a little bit of this. And then [students] talk amongst [themselves] and then that’s how they make their decision of who they’re gonna vote for. I’d say for the majority are not well informed to vote. But again, I could say the same with everybody, cause there’s a lot of people who are not well informed. They just vote on their emotion of what they feel like,” Mehlbrech said.

In fact, some students seem to agree with Mehlbrech, like senior Avery Wheat.

“I feel like some of the [students] are [informed] but others, just aren’t really; they aren’t interested so much yet. But I feel like some people are really informed,” Wheat said.

Eligible or not, there are students who are simply excited to finally have the right to vote.

“I am so pumped to vote. I am just waiting for next November when I’ll be able to actually vote. So pumped,” senior Kate Vana said.