Students are not using simple opportunities to fulfill their civic responsibility.

Every day presents simple yet profound opportunities that people pass up because they are busy.

Students may not sign up for the A+ Program because they can never find time to stop by the A+ office.

Teachers may pass up the opportunity to hear a well known speaker present at school because they have too much grading to do.

Voting registration is one great opportunity that students have passed up.

Every citizen knows that voting is a part of what comes with living in a democratic society, yet on average only 50% of the voting population votes each presidential election, according to www.census.gov.

Every student interviewed believed it is important to vote; however, most have not taken advantage of the easy opportunity to register to vote at school.

Every day until Oct. 10, students can go to the main office or the Welcome Center to register to vote with Ms. Debbie Lill, the principal’s secretary, or Mrs. Shirley Bryan, school receptionist.

The overall process of students registering to vote is simple.

“We have a voter registration card that the students complete and answer simple questions about their home address, and we do require the last four digits of their social security number,” Ms. Lill said. “We also have to see a valid form of ID that has their signature on it. Then they read over a pledge that confirms that they’re not convicted felons and they sign off on it and I sign off on it, and then we send it off to the county.”

Overall the process is hardly stressful and only takes 5-10 minutes.

“The process was quick and easy, and it saved a lot of time not having to go somewhere else to register,” Rachel Wilson (12) said. “Being able to register at school was convenient.”

The fact that the opportunity is still available to students is not widely known.

“You can still register to vote at school?” Emylee Mueller (12) said. “I thought it was just for a week. They made a big deal about it for a week, but then I never heard anything else about it.”

Even during the summer, students 17 and a half or older, or anyone who lives in St. Louis County, is able to come into the office to take the first step in fulfilling their civic responsibility.

“We owe it to ourselves and our future generations,” Mrs. Bryan said. “The decisions we make affect history, and it’s the responsible thing to do.”

Being responsible can be hard for some, but registering to vote doesn’t have to be hard.

Take advantage of the great opportunity that EHS has to offer, and soon all that’s left to do is vote.