(February 28, 2003) -- As students at an American high school, which is also heavily comprised of immigrants—many, in fact, from the Middle East—one might expect an overwhelming response to the imminent war with Iraq.

It is one’s civic responsibility as a citizen of the United States to be aware of current events, especially those that concern our nation. As students approach their senior and junior year, civic responsibility should become an increasingly significant role in one’s life.

Many students at Clark will turn eighteen, register for the selective service and be eligible to vote in upcoming elections this year. Along with this change of life comes the responsibility to be socially aware.

This is an age when a student begins—if he hasn’t already—to watch the news and follow world events in order to formulate his own opinions independent of his parents’ or his teachers’ views.

So far, the activity or the civic responsibility at Clark has been heartening and has spoken positively for our generation. Students, with encouragement from the faculty, have proven that they have things to say in class debates, at protests and though student- initiated petitions.

This activism extends well beyond the war response, as students have attended Glendale City Council meetings to discuss public safety in response to the death of CV student Christine Seo, worked to organize an Armenian Club at Clark and participated in other outlets of activism.

These efforts, no matter how small, deserve to be recognized in the community as the positive trend that they are. Our generation, despite the media, is more active than any previous generation.

The sense of civic responsibility felt by our peers at a young age should serve as a goal for all of us to aspire to as we integrate ourselves into society and approach adulthood.