The 2016 Presidential election is nearing an end with Election Day looming just around the corner on November 8th. However, there is discomfort rumbling throughout the country. With two polar opposite candidates participating, there is a heavy brooding for everyone involved. According to The Atlantic, who deem Hillary, “the most prepared [candidate] ever to seek the presidency”, and who deem Trump, as having no qualifications for public office, and going so far as to say that “His effect is that of an infomercial huckster”, there is division in every single aspect of life.

It’s been hard to find people who vocally support either candidate, the consensus of students feeling that neither options are good, shown by people’s attitudes towards the candidates and the issues facing them. Savannah Krolak, freshman, said, “The issue I’m most concerned with in this election cycle is that they are more worried about arguing with each other instead of listening to what they have to say”.

However, Junior Mark Rickert has strongly stated opinions of such an election of this magnitude, and gave insight to the mind of a decided supporter, while other students contrasted his ideas.
With an election as high-profile as this election, there has been talk of both actions and words. Between a he-said, she-said banter between both Clinton and Trump, Rickert said, “I think that a Candidate’s actions are much more important than words. Words can be very different from actions, so doing something has a different effect than just saying something”. However, there is a division of what is more damaging to a reputation, to which Rickert stated, “Words and actions are equally as damaging to someone’s career and reputation. Both have dug themselves in deep holes though”, with sophomore Alexander Tinoco adding, “They have some allegations that are questionable”.
When asked of who he thinks did more damage, it was an easy answer. “As for Hillary Clinton, I can’t stand her at all”. For him, these actions had a personal impact. “My cousin was one of the first Special Forces units sent in to respond to the attack on the U.S Embassy in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. He was almost killed as a result of Clinton’s disregard for the soldiers in Libya.  The way I see it, Hillary Clinton had multiple chances to make a change in this country, and every chance she had was plagued with scandal. The corruption runs deep with the Clinton family”.

Senior Julia Moroz jumped to the defense of Clinton, saying, “I dislike how she tries to pander to certain types of people, but I like how she at least has a plan for the country”. This defense of Clinton was mirrored by Aniya Nwabuko, a sophomore who said, “What I like about her [Clinton] is she is very determined to win and never backs down despite  all the allegations against her. I also think that she is a good example of leadership”
Even though there are third-party candidates in the running, few people voice their support, and their low poll numbers continually show it, but Senior Kalyna Wozny does not let that stop her from supporting Gary Johnson.

“He [Johnson] seems to be genuine about his stances and is not concerned with power. Their [the government’s] only concern is money and their own political power and not the needs of the people; they let their differences get in the way of actually doing anything for the country”.

Rickert even mirrored this fact of little support for independent and third-party candidates, saying, “I have never really been a supporter of a third party candidate. That’s not to say that I don’t like them, but I’m a Republican so I mainly fall in line with the Republican candidate(s)”.
Despite the fact of there being two tough and disliked candidates, Rickert likes Donald Trump, saying, “Personally I love Donald Trump. I’m not ashamed to declare my support for him. He’s a smart business man who built a booming financial empire. That kind of business doesn’t build itself. He’s not afraid to say what’s on his mind, which is why so many people hate him. He’s not a racist like everyone thinks. He just wants to Make America Great Again”.

However, numerous students dejected this support of Donald Trump. Diana Buenavides, a freshman, stated “I like my candidate because she would be the first woman president and she is fighting for women’s rights”. Freshman Cecilia Figueroa said, “My candidate may have lied but she has actual political experience”, which was shown to be true by fellow freshman Savannah Krolak, who said, “I dislike that he [Trump] has no political background”.
Even with strong support and strong dislike on both sides of the candidates, there is no denying that this presidential election is going to be one of the most famous we’ve had to date.
“I think both Candidates have a very good chance of winning this election. Whoever the winner is, whether it be Trump or Clinton, they better steer this country in the right direction. It’s essentially a 50/50 chance for both candidates to win this election. So fingers crossed, we’ll just have to wait and pray that this country will make the right choice come November”.