The Hellgate Chapter of the Missoula County Democrats was recently established by juniors at Hellgate, Gillian Sherrill and Zara Morris. So far there are over 20 members in the club, and they would like to recruit more people. Meetings are held on Tuesdays at lunch in Ms. Hixon’s room, number 253. 

Sherrill became interested in politics over the summer, working on a city council campaign. She “met a lot of great people who worked for the Dems.”  Their dedication inspired Sherrill, and it led her to take on the Hellgate Chapter Of the Missoula County Democrats. She said, “Their support has really been a big, big part in starting it (the club).” 

Sherrill says she wants to “promote youth involvement in local politics and make everyone realize that their vote does matter, especially for new, or young voters.” Sherrill also said that the club has the opportunity to work with the Dems of Missoula which is great for supporting different organizations that are “really working to affect change in Missoula and nationally.”  Sherrill said that she really wants to give students the opportunity to get involved.

The club’s first project is a voter registration. They will be working with Forward Montana and the Missoula County Democrats to register new voters. The club will also create a voter information initiative so that they can “provide new voters, and voters that are already registered at Hellgate, with information on all of the 2020 candidates, so that they are making informed votes,” said Sherrill. 

Zara Morris, co-president of the club, has “always been interested in the Democratic Democratic and in politics.” This summer Morris had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. to meet other Democratic high schoolers. So she decided to pair up with Sherrill to get her peers involved and engaged. “I think it would be great for the club and the school to collaborate with other clubs like SAVE once our club gets started,” Morris said. 

Morris wants to stress how important youth involvement in politics is. She said, “Youth involvement is super important because we are the next generation of voters, so it’s so so so important for us to know what’s going on in politics, and have an opinion and to speak out for what we believe in.” 

The club wants more people to get involved. Morris said, “People should join to get involved in the Democtatic Party and learn more about politics and to interact with your peers in a political setting.” Sherrill and Morris encourage anyone who is thinking about joining the club to attend lunch meetings held on Tuesdays in Ms. Hixson’s room.