World News • Opinion

By Vivi Orum ‘28 in Spring 2026

Marin Academy styles itself as a politically-conscious school, but how do students feel? Do we talk too much about politics, or not enough? Are we talking about the right issues? What do students actually care about? 

I wanted to find out what MA students and staff thought about these questions. The responses I received varied widely, but the most consistent sentiment was that respondents wanted to talk more about politics, specifically current news events. Students frequently used words like “afraid” to describe their perception of the MA administration’s approach to political conversations and their feelings about sharing political opinions that might deviate from MA’s norm. 

Economy and war were the two issues respondents regularly thought about the most, and political polarization was the most common single “top” issue. While racial equality was the most common issue talked about at MA, it was the least common top issue for respondents: 55% of respondents selected it as one of the three most frequently-discussed subjects at MA, but only 1% selected it as their most thought-about subject. War has the inverse treatment: 65% thought about it regularly, but only 8% heard it discussed frequently at MA. Similarly, 46% of respondents thought about gun ownership regularly, but it was rated as the least discussed issue at MA (4%). 

The amount of time respondents spend thinking about politics increased according to seniority. The same trend is true of stress caused by politics, excluding the senior class (we have lots of things to worry about right now). Students spend an average of an hour and a half per week thinking about politics, and evaluated politics as a 5.5/10 source of stress. 

Responses were highly variable on almost every topic. For example, statements like “Less on LGBTQ+ rights, at a certain point there's [not] much more you can learn and it's just taking time away from learning about important events in history or English” were side-by-side with “PLEASE TALK ABOUT LGBTQ+ RIGHTS I'M TIRED OF HOMOPHOBIC PEOPLE.” Responses relating to the war in Gaza, in particular, were highly variable, but many felt like the humanitarian crisis taking place was going unacknowledged. One junior said that they “Think the administration is often afraid to talk about politics because they don't want to upset anyone, but it gets to a point where something needs to be said. [...] There needs to be more talk about the horrible things going on [in Gaza] and everywhere, even if it might make some people uncomfortable.” Multiple students also expressed disappointment that Travis spoke more about Charlie Kirk’s murder than the ongoing, large-scale human rights abuses occurring domestically and abroad. 

There was an overall frustration with what students see as repetitive topics, especially identity-based issues, which currently outweigh discussions on direct political policy. As one student said, “We talk way too much about gender, race, and sexuality and not nearly enough about current events and the economy.” Many students wanted more opportunities to hear and discuss diverse political opinions: they “Wish we were more impartial and given space to make our own opinions,” “Wish we had more perspectives/opinions to allow us to develop our own,” “Wish we had more views from the right when discussing politics at MA,” “[Wish] people felt more comfortable talking about politics and their beliefs at MA,” “Wish MA would create more classroom opportunities for student to share their viewpoints on current events,” and “Wish the dialogue around political topics was not so tense. I’m curious about other perspectives, even if I do not agree with them.” One student said, “I wish we were less afraid of having different political opinions from each other in class. Even if you don’t believe in a certain viewpoint, unique stances should be valued and heard more often because they spark conversations with true meaning rather than repetitive lectures.” The same student continued: “For example, I wish less people (and teachers included!) would repeat common statements such as ‘climate change is bad’ or ‘colonists were evil’ without thinking critically about how multifaceted the topic really is. I feel if people were willing to admit that most problems are too complex for us to solve or even label as black or white, empty conversations could become meaningful debates.” 

I think the second part of this response illustrates why MA’s style of political education needs to change: if students feel unable to express their opinions, they may write off facts like climate change’s negative effects as just part of MA’s “empty” “lectures.” As one junior said, “MA has lost a big part of its identity as a ‘woke school.’ Even though many of the teachers and curriculum are woke, the students and campus culture very much aren't. By not talking about current topics at MA, the administration allows the school to become more and more conservative, and ends up putting people into the world who lack basic empathy and critical thinking skills.” To be clear, I do not think the first student lacks empathy or critical thinking skills, simply that they may be leaning away from MA’s teachings based on a reactionary instinct, as Oscar Stowell ‘28 also wrote about for The 1600.