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Contributed commentary by Nicholas Wojack, Chair of Montgomery County High School Democrats:

Halfway through my sophomore year at Kenwood High School, something small but significant changed: the school bell.

For years, the bell had sounded like an electric prison alarm – sharp, jarring and nerve-wracking. Every time it rang, students jumped. I braced for it, heart racing, body tense. It set the tone for the day: stressful, loud and unwelcoming.

Then the sound was replaced with something gentler – softer, almost like a tune you’d hear in a children’s show. Suddenly, the start and end of class didn’t feel like an alarm. The new bell was still a reminder, but not a threat. Instead of students dreading the sound, we just acknowledged it and kept moving.

That one change lowered the tension in the building. It didn’t solve every problem, but it showed me something important: Small improvements matter. Even the atmosphere of a school – the sounds, the decorations, the spaces we learn in – can make or break how students feel.

And right now, how students feel matters more than ever. Too many of my peers walk the halls with their heads down, earbuds in, carrying loneliness, depression and doubt. We are the most digitally “connected” generation in history, yet many of us feel isolated. When you don’t believe you matter, it’s hard to believe you can change anything.

But the truth is, we can. We’re needed. Our schools, our neighborhoods, and yes, even our government, need young people to step up. The government needs youth.

The bell change is proof. If something as small as the sound of the day’s rhythm can ease stress, imagine what could happen if students had brighter classrooms filled with their own artwork, or hallways that felt alive instead of bare and anonymous. Imagine schools that doubled down on literacy and peer tutoring so that every student had the confidence to express themselves clearly and believe their voice carried weight. Imagine students being encouraged not just to get through school, but to see their education as a tool for empowerment.

But belief doesn’t come from imagination alone. It comes from action. Depression feeds on isolation, and loneliness thrives when young people feel cut off from their community. That’s why involvement is so critical. Joining a club, volunteering in the neighborhood, or even organizing a small school project isn’t about filling up a resume. It’s about discovering you have impact right now.

That is why we created the Montgomery County High School Democrats. While the name comes from a political tradition, our work is about more than partisanship. Our focus is inclusion, service and improvement. We welcome every student who wants to make their school and community better. Sometimes that looks like civic education – helping students understand how decisions about buses, lunches or start times are actually made. Other times, it looks like community service, literacy drives, or simply giving students a place to belong. What matters most is that we are moving students from the sidelines into the center of change.

If a new bell can change the way students feel in a hallway, imagine what hundreds of young people could do if they believed in themselves enough to act. We are not just the future – we are the now. And our schools, our neighborhoods and our government need us to show up.

Because the government doesn’t just need adults in suits. The government needs youth.

Nicholas Wojack