Just recently, the Westford Town Meeting was moved to Saturday, April 27 in order to account for bigger voter turnout. This change came after the Town Meeting on March 23 at WA, which reached maximum capacity and had to be canceled. The rescheduled Town Meeting location has been moved to the WA Trustees Field so more Westford residents could attend.
However, this will not entirely be the case. With the rescheduled Town Meeting being on April 27, Westford Youth Sports will have entered the spring sports season, which was not an issue with the original meeting date.
Pairing spring sports with various other activities that may have already caused a conflict for young voters, such as theater, band and additional extra-curriculars, several voters who were originally able to attend the March 23 meeting now are unable to do so.
Therefore, all extracurricular activities on the morning of April 27 should be canceled or pushed off to later in the day so those who plan to attend the meeting have no additional commitments preventing them from supporting Westford.
In the democratic process of voting, it is vital that all voices are heard whether it is from parents, Westford Public Schools teachers, or WA students who are now 18 and eligible to vote. Morning sporting events and other activities prohibit all of these voices from being heard.
More than 1,600 residents showed up to WA to attend the Town Meeting but were shortly turned around when the packed Performing Arts Center and both gymnasiums were full to capacity. Having a maximum number of representatives will luckily no longer be such a big problem with the new location of the town meeting being outside at the Trustees Field.
It is important for this many people to attend the rescheduled meeting, and the solution of bringing everyone outdoors will solve the resident limit issues. However, sports and extracurriculars will provide conflicts, being one of the only other main setbacks that could prevent Westford residents from attending the annual meeting.
For example, spring sport senior athletes are usually seen as leaders of their teams. Therefore, their teammates and coaches are counting on them to be at games and practices. This prevents a large population of younger voters’ voices to be heard.
It is within the town’s and Westford Youth Sports’s control to postpone morning activities, games, and practices on the morning of Town Meeting. If they do so, this will assure that nearly everyone who wants to is able to attend the meeting, especially because the meeting concerns the budget override that will affect students’ lives.
Parents of the kids who will be affected by these decisions need to take part, and be present at the upcoming town meeting. Pushing off activities on the morning of this meeting is a must.
On the other hand, making the decision to postpone games, practices, and extracurriculars would undoubtedly be difficult. It would take a lot of adjusting in the scheduling department between athletic directors and coaches to rearrange games, especially those at the high school level. However, it is of the utmost importance to include students in this Town Meeting and the decision process involved; the town should prioritize that.
The difficulties Westford is currently going through are hard to handle, but by using your voice, you can make a difference. All of these voices must be heard, and by adjusting the times of extracurriculars and sporting events on the morning of April 27 will make this happen.
