2018's list includes some polarizing figures
Time Magazine's Person of the Year short list included a wide range of public figures from the past year, including Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, and special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating President Donald Trump and his campaign.
The list sometimes includes unconventional choices that represent movements or groups of people, rather than individuals. This year, that designation went to "Separated Families," referencing illegal immigrant parents who were separated from their children when detained for attempting to illegally enter the U.S.
"More than 2,000 families were separated at the U.S. border this year under a Trump administration policy aimed at deterring illegal immigration," Time's article read.
Another group nominated on the short list was March For Our Lives. The group is a gun control advocacy organization founded by survivors of the mass murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February.
One of the founders of that organization, Cameron Kasky, said he didn't want the honor and would refuse it if March For Our Lives was chosen.
"...Because I believe that those who were lost due to horrific gun violence deserve to be remembered over people like me," Kasky wrote on Twitter on Monday. "I am sure my fellow organizers of the Marh will also agree that this should be about the victims, not about us. Thanks for understanding."
Kasky later clarified that he was only speaking for himself, not for other members of the group.
Hey guys, I heard that the March for Our Lives Activists were nominated for Time person of the year. I'm currently sitting in my bedroom, the place where the March began, and I'm letting you all know that if MFOL wins, I'm respectfully declining (continued)
— Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) December 10, 2018
Others on the short list include:
The Person of the Year will be announced early Tuesday morning.
