Humans of La Salle: Students Share Their Final Thoughts on 2016 Election
November 4, 2016
There is no question that this year was a turning point in American politics. Citizens’ views and opinions on the issues and the politicians debating those issues are rapidly changing; from the ultra conservatives of the far right to the progressive liberals of the far left, this election has perhaps sparked more heated discussion than any other in modern history.
Furthermore, there are those who are undecided and confused by this year’s voting cycle; usual “red” states are beginning to turn a bit blue as some Republicans decide to vote for a Democrat this year, while at the same time some Democrats feel distrust in Hillary, and have cast their ballot for Trump.
With a diversity of students from different backgrounds and values, La Salle is no exception. With only a few days left until the 2016 presidential election, The Falconer decided to get a sense of what students around the school are thinking about the candidates. Here’s what they had to say.
Freshmen:
Name: Carson Redmond
Supports: Donald J. Trump
“I like Trump because he’s willing to say things that no other candidate is willing to say and the other candidates are too scared to say… I think it’s going to be a long shot, but he does still have a chance to win.”
Name: Evan Versoza
Supports: Hillary Clinton
“I prefer Hillary Clinton just because she seems like the better candidate and less likely to get the country in bigger trouble than it already is… I feel like she would work out better than Trump would work out.”
Sophomores:
Name: Annika Sevcik
Supports: Jill Stein
“[I support Jill Stein] because I think we deserve better options than the two given to us from the Republican and Democratic parties, and if I was able to vote I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to vote for either one.”
Name: Claire Asato
Supports: Hillary Clinton
“[I chose to support Clinton] because I think a female should be President… I dislike everything about Trump and everything he says, all that comes out of his mouth is contradictory to my beliefs.”
Juniors:
Name: Matthew Werner
Supports: Donald J. Trump
“I support Donald Trump because of his policies on border security, health care reform, and abortion. As a strong Trump supporter, I believe he is the best option for the future of our country and for the future of our children. Right now we [have] a terrible national debt and the only thing Hillary plans to do about it is raise taxes and raise [the] minimum wage which will just greater inflate our debt. If the United States wants to have a bright future, Trump is the only way to go.”
Name: Grace Gosse
Supports: Hillary Clinton
“I personally like Hillary Clinton because Trump is racist, sexist, and has the attitude and anger of a three year old girl. I believe he is racist because he stereotypes all races to the worst of their kind by saying that all Mexicans are drug dealers and all African Americans are gang members.”
Seniors (who actually voted this election cycle):
Name: Jonah Pemberton
Voted for: Donald J. Trump
“[I voted for Trump] because I am a Republican and because he is going to make the economy way better and Hillary is a criminal. I hate [Clinton]’s tax policy; it is very uneducated and is going to affect everyone negatively.”
Name: Patrick Dowhaniuk
Voted for: Donald J. Trump
“I voted for Trump because he has a good plan for what he’s going to do with the Army and military, and I did not vote for Hillary because no one can trust her due to what she’s done with her emails and [the emails] prove she’s a liar.”
Name: Jared Fontenette
Voted for: Gary Johnson
“I am voting for Gary Johnson this election season because I align with neither Trump nor Clinton. I believe Trump is incompetent and Clinton is corrupt. I do not agree with Johnson on everything, and in a usual election cycle I would not support him; but he and his VP both have experience as successful two-term governors and I support many of his economic policies. He is the only free trade candidate running, and socially I agree with a lot of his views. He has shown that he needs to educate himself on [foreign policy] but even so I trust him on the issues more than Trump or Clinton.”
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According to many Oregon polls, Hillary Clinton is winning the popular vote for Oregonians by a small margin. But with many surprises in this campaign season so far and more still possible, the country will have to wait a few more days, until November 8th, to see the final result of this election. Who do you support? Tell us in the comments or poll!
Creative Commons photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolframburner/5121297318
Leslie • Nov 6, 2016 at 8:23 pm
I have to say, I am a bit surprise to see out of the nine selected, four are going for Trump. (Since he has a bad reputation) I thought more people would be going for Clinton based on media.