Seniors who are eligible to vote in the upcoming midterm elections scheduled for Nov. 8 were asked about their values, how those values shape their political views and if they plan to vote. All students featured below are eligible to vote and will be 18 by election day. Quotes were edited for length and clarity.

I want to vote because I feel like my voice can be heard. It is also hard to get involved in politics at a young age. I feel like my vote does have some value to it, especially in today’s society with the issues surrounding abortion and gun control, there’s a lot at stake right now.

  – Senior Sahib Kaur

It’s so important to vote and have people be heard. I would say my political beliefs are heavily built around empathy, humanities, having human rights and generally being able to live and sustain yourself in a country. I’m not a huge fan of 99 percent of people in politics right now. I would say a lot of politicians don’t hold great values. 

  – Senior Conrad Chapman

I’m not planning to vote in the midterm elections. Personally, I would just say election results are predictable based on the partisan bias of the state as a whole. I have more to worry about, like school and extracurriculars, and voting is just not really at the top of my mind. My vote does not really have the same impact as a vote in say a competitive state like Georgia.

        – Senior Michael Bilous

I am planning to vote in the midterm elections. I think it’s kind of cool because not many people are old enough to vote, but I’m also going to vote because my sisters are encouraging me. I just think it’s important to be yourself and have your own values because your parents aren’t always going to be walking you through everything.

        – Senior Allison Gordon

Civic engagement is one of my greatest values because it’s important for young people these days to go to the ballot boxes. I’ve been interning at the office of Jonathan Carroll, Illinois state representative for the 57th district since the summer before my freshman year. As an intern at the district office, I have learned the importance of civic engagement as we do a lot of community outreach.

        – Senior Catherine Tang

As someone who’s been interested in politics and social issues for quite a while now, I feel like it’s a really important opportunity to finally be able to vote, and it is something that I don’t want to take for granted. My cousin is very interested in politics. He works with U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider as an intern, and he’s very interested in people our age using their right to vote. He can’t vote but he helped me register.

          – Senior Emma Larsen