On February 23, 2024, ACE students from English 3 and US History class went on a field trip to the Connecticut Old State House in Hartford. This trip included twenty-one students and two teachers. The tour guides showed us around and asked us what we thought about 16 and 17-year-olds being able to vote. She gave us a small piece of paper and we either wrote yes or no. After we answered, she collected our answers and told us we were going to come back to it at the end.
The tour guides then showed us a Senate Chamber. There was a big long table in the middle. It looked fancy. She also took us to see a House Chamber. There were a lot of desks and it was very spacious. The tour guide spoke about the women’s suffrage movement and this is where they decided all the laws.
At the end of the trip she came back to the question “Should 16/17 yr old be able to vote?” Most answered no because they thought that in that age teenagers don’t really think through what they chose to do and are also mostly immature. DJ thinks that 16/17 should be able to vote because they are given the chance to use their voice and that we should take this opportunity to make a change. What Dj said made others agree with him and how some of us could make a change if 16/17 were able to vote.
Our student Eric Gallegos said his favorite part of the trip was going to get McDonald’s after the trip. We asked him do you think 16/17 year olds should be able to vote? Eric thought 16/17 should be able to vote because “it can create a change in our society”. Lastly, we asked Eric what he learned from the trip. Eric tells us, “ I learned that women had to own their own land to be able to vote.”
Overall, the CT State House was a fun trip and we learned a lot of things. Many thanks to Rob and DJ for taking our class to the CT Old State House.
