Whether in the streets protesting, or simply making an Instagram post, Erie High School students have been making their voices heard over the summer. Despite the Coronavirus pandemic students were still able to voice their opinions on movements such as Black Lives Matter. 

“I feel it is important that a lot of people are educating themselves, and by sharing our own views and our own content we can help others educate themselves and hope that they will take that in and consider it,” says Kaitlynn Andrus.

Kaitlynn Andrus, a senior at Erie High School shares her political views through Instagram.

“The main way that I have found to push my political views out into the world is mainly through the use of Instagram, and sharing content from black creators, feminist creators, and activism Instagram pages to help spread the word to other people that may not be aware of what is currently going on.”Andrus stated.

Instagram allows people to have conversations about their political beliefs, exchange insights, and educate each other without being face to face. 

“Instagram has been such a huge platform that I’ve been able to learn from. And I think a lot of people have also learned from that because there has been a huge spike in activism through the internet because of not being able to go out and do many protests…” explained Andrus,…“Personally, I have definitely gained a lot of information from it and I am sure other people have and I think it is important that I push that forward.”

Social media platforms have become a place for debates, educating yourself and others, and sharing political ideas.

While some are sharing their political views online, others are in the streets marching and protesting for movements such as Black Lives Matter.

“My family and I care very deeply about the Black Lives Matter movement, physically being there was a big deal for us,” explained Sophia Pelling.

Sophia Pelling, a senior at Erie High School has attended protests in Boulder, Denver, and Erie.

“In the protests, I was able to meet a lot of people that had the same political views as me and that were as passionate about it as I was.” Pelling states.

Shockingly, there were not many guidelines to keep everyone safe during the Coronavirus outbreak. Due to the numbers of people, it was difficult to have everyone six feet apart.

“Everyone did stand pretty close together, there was no social distancing because there were a lot of people. But everyone did make sure to wear their masks and avoid the people that they did not come with.” Pelling added.

With all the political issues that have come to light Erie students have still been able to voice their opinions despite the Coronavirus pandemic.