If young people are the future of the Democratic party, Ridge High School junior Lucy Brodkin gives us much cause for optimism. Brodkin, this year’s winner of the BTDC Civic Scholarship, given to a Ridge student entering their senior year or first year of college who is an enthusiastic proponent of civic engagement and democratic values, could not be a better model of youthful political involvement. The Basking Ridge teen, who lives with mom Lisa, dad Jesse, brother Oliver, and pooch Pixie, will receive $1,000 and have the chance at a summer internship with a political campaign.

Amid stiff competition, Brodkin was chosen not only due to her impressive resume but her forthright advocacy and persistent presence in the halls of power. A regular attendee at Bernards Township Committee and Bernards Township Board of Education meetings, Brodkin is unafraid to step up and speak out when necessary. 

“I think my involvement in local politics started as a result of the previous BOE’s textbook censorship,” Brodkin said, referring to a decision made by the board last year to drop a sociology textbook that some members claimed was politically biased. “That really got me more interested in what was happening in my own town, because I saw what could happen when we stop paying attention.” 

Raised in a politically active family, Brodkin was regularly brought to political meetings by her parents. She recalls being particularly impacted by a visit to a science museum while visiting her grandparents in San Francisco, which got her interested in preserving the environment and becoming a vegetarian. But her Democratic leanings were really honed once she started at Ridge and joined the debate team.

“I was spending hours a week talking to like-minded people about politics,” she said. “My past political conversations were usually arguing with the guys in my middle-school English classes, but now they were more intellectual debates about real policies. I think I also became much more liberal.”

In addition to debating, Brodkin is a member of the Ridge Democratics and Ridge Political Review, which publishes political articles. She recently wrote about the impact of social media on teen sexuality and is working on an article about the problems of choice feminism. Her favorite philosopher is Sarah Ahmed, author of Living a Feminist Life, and she embraces Ahmed’s theory of the “feminist killjoy,”  which posits that creating discomfort among those in power is what induces them to make change.

“I think a good example of my practice of this is when I recently spoke to the Board of Education,” Brodkin recalled. “I, among countless other girls at my school, were upset that administration wasn’t providing period products in the bathrooms, so I told the BOE about my menstrual cycle and how this was necessary. I think it definitely made them uncomfortable, because now products are accessible everywhere in the school.”

With college a year away, Brodkin has given some thought to this next phase of her life. She plans to continue debating and hopes to take classes on civics, economics, and math, as well as immerse herself in data science and political science. And she intends to be an active political influencer on campus: “I think that as an American, especially as a young American, I have the privilege of political participation that must be exercised. I plan on voting, pushing my friends to do the same, and certainly making my opinions known to my local and state representatives.”

Brodkin is simultaneously heartened by protests on campus centering on the war in Gaza and worried that student sentiment will translate into a loss for President Biden. But she remains upbeat. “This is largely a really good sign that young people are becoming more politically engaged, and that it will lead to a stronger democracy,” she stated, adding that she thinks people in general are much more liberal than they believe they are. “I think most Americans would like the idea of affordable healthcare, higher social security payments, and less power to big corporations–all of which are the major issues on the Democratic platform.”

When not working to save democracy, Brodkin loves cooking, going for runs, and reading books like Catch 22, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Great Expectations. Those of us who’ve watched Brodkin’s burgeoning political awareness have great expectations for this impressive teen and can’t wait to see where her journey takes her!

– LAURIE SALOMAN