A Deep Dive into how young female students
in NYC boroughs are engaging (or not) with politics, despite the historic nature of the 2024 election
November 20, 2024
source: apnews
In our age of information overload, news is inescapable. From the endless scroll of social media to the 24/7 news cycle, we're constantly bombarded with facts, opinions, and outright propaganda. But are we truly engaged? Or have we become numb to the constant barrage, tuning out the political noise and social agendas that fill our feeds?
A survey was conducted at The New York School for Medical and Dental Assistants (NYSMDA) to find out just that, and to get a feel of how our students felt during the election build up around November 5th. Our students, who range from ages 18 to 35 (Fig 1), primarily females residing in the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx were asked to take a survey regarding their feelings after the election in relation to their comfort in their classrooms and school facilities.
Fig 1. Age group of NYSMDA student survey participants
To our surprise, only 70% of our students reported following election news “sometimes”, while 10% said never. We also asked our students which sources they primarily rely on for news information in which, an overwhelming 90% said social media platforms like (X, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc.) was their primary source, while TV and news websites, emails and newspapers were voted in as their non-primary sources (Fig 2). When asked if they had participated in any election-related activities, such as volunteering or protesting, 100% of the participants voted no, while disclosing that 40% of the participants did not feel comfortable discussing election-related topics, and 30% reported feeling comfortable to discuss election-related topics sometimes (Fig 3).
Fig 2. NYSMDA students choice of medium for information consumption
Fig 3. NYSMDA students expressing feeling comfort in election-related discussions in classes
What we found interesting was the non-correlation between desire to discuss and participate in election discussions despite the high consumption of news which leads to the possible questions: are we shielding out the overly-stimulated news leading to low numbers of activism or discussions? Or perhaps is it the feeling of uneasiness that we felt during the election period that made us leave politics out entirely?
We asked our students if the election results affected their personal feelings or beliefs in any way, to which 87.5% said no and 12.5% had reported saying that having Donald Trump in the office again has created feelings of uncertainty and disheartened-ness. When asked if there were any specific events or topics of discussion that stood out, 42.8% opted for no, while 14.3% expressed the disappointment of not having a female president who has ideas in which they trust. They expressed that the name Trump stirred an overly cautious attitude about their surroundings regarding personal safety and others. Another 14.3% of the participants expressed their concern regarding immigration laws and reproductive rights and well as the aftermath of a potentially dissolved Department of Education. The other 14.3% said that they recalled the time when the American comedian Tony Hinchcliffe came up and made a joke about Puerto Rico leading to an outcry in affected communities.
With our school encompassing a very diverse set of students from all 5 boroughs, our goal at NYSMDA has always been to encourage a safe and inclusive space for students to foster not only their educational growth in their fields, but also to feel comfortable in expressing thoughts and opinions of the world around them. Due to the volatility of the recent November 5th, 2024 election, we are making sure to understand and respect our students, staff and faculty and maintain a neutral ground for all members to feel like their thoughts behind their professional demeanor is never unheard.
The overall atmosphere in the school/community following the election was reported as 50% positive and 50% neutral by the participants, while 90% reported seeing no changes in interactions between students or staff after the election (Fig 4, Fig 5).
Fig 4. NYSMDA students expressing being comfortable in election-related discussions in classes
Fig 5. NYSMDA students expressing changes in interactions between students or staff after the election
We finished off the survey by asking our participants if there are specific actions NYSMDA can take to promote understanding and a sense of unity within our school. 100% of our participants reported saying that “NYSMDA has always been nothing but supportive” and don't have any further ideas as of now. However, NYSMDA always welcomes new ideas and proactive discussions to improve our community for students.
Author Information
Anisha Miah
Digital Marketing and Events Manager at NYSMDA
November 20, 2024