On Nov. 2, senior Tyler Nazarian will make a contribution to American history. He will help determine the path America will take in the near future. He will help make a decision on what will be America’s next action towards war. On Nov. 2, Nazarian will vote for the next President of the United States of America.

Nazarian is one of a few students who are18 years old and eligible to vote in this year’s presidential election. Of the few old enough to vote, an even smaller group took the initiative to register to vote. Nazarian strongly believes that every citizen able to vote should.

“It is completely and utterly ridiculous not to vote,” Nazarian said. “It is the one chance for you to make your voice heard in the government.”

Nazarian will be casting his vote for George W. Bush, the current president and Republican candidate. He says he feels strongly about his choice and that he respects the way Bush has handled the war in Iraq.

“As being a member of the student leadership here at Redondo, I understand that you need to stick by your choices,” Nazarian said. “Bush made a choice and he had to stick by it, and I respect him for that.”

Nazarian says the main reason he is not voting for Democratic candidate John Kerry is because he feels Kerry doesn’t have as strong a character as Bush. Nazarian feels that Kerry only says what the public wants to hear.

“I vote for candidates with character. Kerry is a puppet. He only says what makes the audience happy. If he gets elected to office, he will only do what the Democratic party tells him to do. Bush will do what he believes is right,” Nazarian said.

Although Nazarian says his decision was made entirely on his own, he does feel he was at least slighly influenced by his parents political affiliation.

“I would like to say that I have not been influenced on my choice, that I’m my own voter,” Nazarian said, “but the way I have been brought up has influenced my political views.”

Nazarian also feels strongly that media and society today have greatly influenced his and others choices.

“TV has always been influencing society,” Nazarian said. “No matter how hard you try, the media will always have an effect on you.”

Senior Tommy Morningstarr will also be voting. He is a Democrat and says he will definitely be voting for Kerry.

“I feel with the times we are going through now, we definitely need a Democrat in power,” Morningstarr said.

Despite their disagreement on who should be in power, both students agreed that the influence the media has on voters today is a major problem.

“I think a huge problem today is that people will listen to anything the media says,” Morningstarr said. “The media has too big of an influence on our government.”

Nazarian and Morningstarr both agreed that there is no justifiable reason for eligible teens to not vote.

“Why wouldn’t you vote?” Mornigstarr said. “Voting is the most responsible thing you can do for your country.”