“I’m voting for Barack O’bama!” “Well my vote is for Hilary Clinton! “Wait, then who is John McCain and Mike Huckabee?”

The elections this year include two Democrats running, Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, as well as two Republicans running, John McCain and Mike Huckabee. According to time-standard.com, in California 42 percent of California are Democrats while 29 percent are Republican. So the question is, where are these Republican and why don’t we hear more from them?

“My friend’s parents are Republicans and when asked about politics they don’t talk about it,” said English teacher Carys Steers. “They just keep their political views to themselves.”

But where’s the Republican party around SLz? Many students and staff have noticed that it’s really hard to find a Republican representative here at SLz.

“I haven’t heard of any students around this school talking about McCain or Huckabee. I don’t even think some kids even know who they are,” said Sophomore Rodrigo Rodriguez. “But if you talk about Clinton and Obama, everyone starts getting in the conversation.”

That is not the case for all students here at SLz. Senior Joshua Bambey doesn’t hide any of his beliefs towards this issue.

“Most people at school hate Republicans and most people here look at me differently because of my decision of being a Republican,” he explains.

As far as parents go, Bambey tries to avoid the subject around them.

“Both my parents are independent voters and I don’t think they would be too happy if they found out I was a Republican,” he said.

Health Teacher Kris Bernard explains that she was raised in a Republican family and she herself has grown to become one.

“I’m not really a political person; I’m probably a Republican because of my parents. However, as the ideas get towards the Christian groups, it gets challenging for me to follow those thoughts,” said Bernard.

Bernard also confesses her change in her position. Especially when asked about the way the Republicans are handling the abortion conflict.

“I may not stay Republican because I can’t follow someone telling me what to do about myself and my body,” said Bernard. “I’m considered the most liberal Republican amongst peers.”

A few weeks back, SLz’s government classes held a Mock Election around campus during school. The results were announced and Barak Obama won the democrat position and John McCain won the Republican position.

“A large percentage of our students selected the “Do not have enough information” option when voting for the republican candidate; this allows a student to “abstain” from voting,” said Government and Economics Teacher Mike Jones via e-mail.

Many have reasoning on why the Republican Party around the school is low.

“That really is not unusual or surprising for the Bay Area. Because this region is such a Democratic Party stronghold, Republicans often don't spend much time, effort, or money campaigning in the area. Thus, many students had not heard much about the Republican candidates,” said Jones.

Though O’bama and Clinton’s names are commonly heard on campus these days, the elections are an important event that happens once every four years and students are responsible to know who their candidates are and what their ideas are for the country.

“This is for the President, not American idol. It is ridiculous that people know more about the finalist for a TV talent show than the candidates to lead their country, and even worse, that they don’t care to know,” said Michael Shahda via e-mail.