It was the vote heard round the world… or not.
On September 18th, Scotland had the opportunity to break away from the UK and forge its own path. But in a 55/45 split vote, they decided to stick it out.
Here at WS, students watched the vote with varying degrees of interest. Seniors in AP Comparative Government and Politics held an energized mock debate, shouting across the classroom about currency, nuclear disarmament, and other factors relevant to the issue of breaking away from the Crown. But some felt a more personal connection to the issue.
“I might have a little bias towards the Crown. I’m a dual citizen, my mom was born and raised in Australia,” said senior India Perdue.
Perdue’s Australian citizenship and heritage gave her an added level of interest in the issue. While she thought Scotland becoming independent might be exciting, she didn’t like the idea of a country breaking ties with the UK.
“I wore my British sweater [on the referendum day] because I was excited,” said Perdue. “A little bit of an anticlimactic moment but oh well.”
Most students here at WS, however, watched the vote with a little less enthusiasm.
“I didn’t really care about them,” said Senior Class President Will Goodwin.
The vote didn’t have much impact on the average student here, and many students had a hard time getting interested in the Scottish independence movement when the US’s revolution against the UK in 1776 had so much more excitement.
“We were the first ones to do it,” said Goodwin. “We were determined to be independent, while Scotland was afraid of the consequences.”
Goodwin referred to the colonies as “hipsters”, and echoed the common sentiment among our student body that compared to America, Scotland’s movement to break away from the Crown was a little less impressive.
“They’re too scared to risk their financial stability for freedom. And that is why no Scottish person can ever be an American,” said Goodwin.
However, as pro-rebellion as the Senior Class President may be, he was quick to emphasize that his standpoint did not apply to the student body here at WS. Breaking away from authority may be a tradition as old as America itself, but that doesn’t mean WS students should get carried away too much with ideas of rebellion.
“It’s different. We are gaining an education from the system,” said Goodwin. “And education is the most valuable thing in this world.”