Tamara Tracz ('25)
In just 8 weeks, “Is Gen Z misinformed? Conservative Teens vs. Liberals vs. Moderates | Middle Ground” has amassed almost one million views! Our very own former Editor-in-Chief of the Lawrencian, Jack Granahan (‘22), flew all the way to California to participate in this political debate. He currently studies politics, history, and international/global studies at Brandeis University, and he aspires to be a diplomat for the US Foreign Services or work for the US Department of State in some other capacity. Find out what it was like to get featured on Jubilee below!
What inspired you to be a part of the Jubilee video?
For one, I’ve been watching Jubilee for years, as I’m sure most people our age have. I’ve always been a big fan, and so for that reason I’ve been applying for the video for years. I was particularly interested in [“Is Gen Z misinformed? Conservative teens vs. Liberals vs. Moderates | Middle Ground”] because as a politics major, and as a politically involved member of Gen Z, I think it’s very important for us to have open conversations.
What was the application process like?
Jubilee asked us to send our social media profile links so that they could see if we were interesting, I guess. They asked us why we wanted to be in the video, the sort of experience that we have with the subject, as well as how the series affects our beliefs about the particular subject.
What was it like to be on Jubilee?
It felt really surreal because I’ve been watching Jubilee for a while, and they are a big YouTube channel. I thought, “Wow, I can’t believe that I am actually the one in the chair now!” It’s crazy to me. Above all else, I felt that I really benefited from the experience because we were able to have a very meaningful conversation about politics and how they affect our generation.
Are you satisfied with the way the debate went?
Yes, I am. Everyone always talks about how Jubilee cuts out a lot of what we say. And they did. We were filming for a good 5 hours and the video was about 20 minutes long, but I think that they did a good job of keeping my best quotes. I’m pretty satisfied with it.
Is there anything that you wish you had said?
Yes, there is one thing off the top of my head right now. They asked us to step forward if we believed that moderates are the solution in politics, and as a political moderate, I stepped forward. However, I don’t think I did a good enough job articulating exactly why I thought that, and I feel like my answer just came off as a plea to work together. However, there are specific reasons for why people need to do a better job of being politically moderate. Even if you do not necessarily have moderate views, it’s important to have the ability to listen to your other fellow American neighbors, Gen Z members, and people in general. It is important to recognize their side of the argument. Also, something in particular that I neglected to mention—that I really should have—is that it definitively weakens the US as a country when Americans can’t find common ground with each other. This is seen especially in other nations that are not allied with the US, like Russia for example. Russia pushes out a lot of misinformation, and the outcome of these misinformed campaigns, such as the ones carried out by the Internet Research Agency, usually pit Russians against one another. It weakens the country.
What is something that someone said that stuck out to you?
That is a good question. Something that stuck out to me was that three of my fellow cast members—one liberal, one moderate, and one conservative—all spoke out about their various experiences with racism as black teenagers, and it was disheartening to hear that they had to face such prejudice and bigotry because of their skin color and that there are still people alive and well in the US today who deny that. It was also good to see that the three of them, in spite of their political differences, bonded over the wrongness of what they faced and agreed that we all need to fight against that kind of prejudice and bigotry.
What do you rate the thumbnail 1 through 10?
I’d rate it a 3 or a 4 just because the girl they put in the middle isn’t even a moderate—she’s a conservative. That was somewhat confusing. I wasn’t in the thumbnail, but I’m not going to beat them up for that!
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