Ever since the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School, South Broward High School has been as vocal as they come. Protests and rallies have been going on since day 1, as well as many individual students making their voices heard on the topic of gun control, security in schools, and the activism of their peers from both sides of the issue.

One such student is Andrej Petreski, a senior at SBHS. Andrej is 17 years old, and he is already pre-registered to vote in the midterm elections on November 6th.

“It wasn’t that hard,” said Petreski on how he got registered, “they just asked me where and when I was born, my ethnicity, my social security number and all that.”

Petreski says that he’s not affiliated with any party, but he will check each candidate for every position to see who he wants to vote for.

“I’d say I’m more right leaning,” said the senior. However, he also would not be opposed to voting for democratic politicians if their views are in line with his.

“I don’t believe teachers should be armed,” said Petreski on his thoughts on arming staff members in schools.

“I heard that in California, a teacher already accidentally shot his gun,” said the student, referring to the accidental firing in a school in California by a teacher who was trying to teach his students about gun safety. Three of his students ended up injured due to shrapnel from the bullet.

“I was more for arming teachers until I saw that and it made me realize, this is not a good idea,” said Petreski. When asked about how he would feel if specially trained armed staff were present in his school, he said that it would “legit spook me. I wouldn’t trust them.”

Students have been advocating for more than just arming staff. Other issues such as raising the minimum age for being able to buy a gun, banning bump stocks, and more extensive background checks have been hotly contested points of debate among politicians and students.

Petreski believes that while total restriction of guns is not the solution, he does agree with raising the age and conducting more extensive background checks.

“An older person should be able to take care of themselves,” says the 17 year old on raising the minimum age. Petreski wants to raise it to at least 21 years old.

Andrej Petreski will be voting in the midterm elections on November 6th, 2018. If you are old enough and are a US citizen, don’t forget to pre-register as soon as you can and vote for your future.