Conservatives of ELHS: Speak Up!

For this school year, The Saga elected to change their motto from “exemplifying allyship to encourage building a community of changemakers” to “sharing differing opinions with the intent to understand.” The second slogan
seems to be softer than the first, emphasizing “differing opinions” over “a community of changemakers.”

It seems the change was made in an effort to uplift conservative opinions in response to the liberal-leaning Saga staff.

Last school year, progressive editorials filled the opinion pages of The Saga, such as “All I Want For Christmas is Gun Sense in America,” “Why I Don’t Celebrate Veteran’s Day,” and “It’s Time to Add Covid to the List of School-Mandated Vaccines.” Unsurprisingly, this year’s opinion section retains a liberal slant with titles such as “Capitalism is Killing Our Planet” and “Perceiving Gun Violence as An American Teenager.”

Of course, editorials written by a conservative thinker or containing a conservative tilt will occasionally appear on pages. But, what happened to that promise of “differing opinions?” Few conservative opinions have been proposed; as such, few have been published. Opinions pushed by conservative-leaning staff on The Saga over the past few years tend to explore how “differing opinions are okay,” rather than present fact-based arguments for conservative
takes.

For example, a 2023 published opinion, “Wake Up America,” stated “it’s time to realize an opposing opinion isn’t wrong.” Additionally, in upper-level discussion classes like AP Government and AP English Language, conservative opinions are few and far between, or so it seems.

Student-shared news articles for the purpose of discussion in AP Language almost never have a conservative slant,
nor do opinions shared in open debates in AP Government.

Conservatives of ELHS: instead of regurgitating rhetoric that “it’s okay to have different opinions,” share your opinions! The best way to shake the liberal ideologues of ELHS is to challenge their views with fact-based arguments.

ELHS is not a homogenous group of thinkers. However, left-leaning thinkers seem most prone to speak up. If an administrator walked into an average discussion in AP Government, they would think ELHS is a socialist breeding ground.

The same would happen with the Political Issues Club. My point is this: left-leaning political thinkers of ELHS disproportionately fill our school’s discussion spaces.

Conservatives, I challenge you to initiate conversation so we can all reflect on our beliefs and their origin. This includes current or future conservative thinkers in Saga leadership positions and the general student body. It is not worth your time to complain that the Saga leans left.

Instead, disagree with the ELHS liberal bloc. I urge you to project your “differing opinions.” The rest of ELHS will listen. Together, we can reflect on our beliefs and engage in meaningful dialogue to advance community needs.