By Bianca Palughi ’18
Staff Writer
The 2016 presidential campaign is down to four candidates — Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Hillary Clinton, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
The U.S. presidential race has stirred up commotion worldwide. Many people are unhappy with Clinton and Trump. Since many do not support the candidates, this has made their decision on whether to vote as challenging as who to vote for.
Junior Shannon O’Donnell says she is voting for Gary Johnson because, “I cannot function in a world where Hillary or Trump is president.” O’Donnell has decided to become an independent voter because she does not support Clinton or Trump.
This race hasn’t been like any other in the sense that it is unconventional compared to how past races have been conducted. Donald Trump is not the norm for a presidential candidate. He is very outspoken and does not care about what people think about what he says. He does conform to what typical presidential candidates say they will do; he is just going to do what he wants to do. Many disagree with Trump’s beliefs because of how narcissistic and degrading he can be towards those of color, women, and immigrants.
People are torn because Clinton has faults of her own. Through her classified email scandal and Benghazi attack, Clinton’s ability to act when needed in dire situations have shown to be not that effective. It is hard to support Clinton because she is viewed as being a liar and corrupt. Through Clinton’s years of being in the world of politics, from being around her husband who is a former president to being the secretary of state, has given her an advantage over Trump in the aspect that she knows what to do and say to the public in order to gain a following. With all those years of experience, Clinton has mastered the art of manipulation, whereas Trump has never held a political position before making it hard for him to insert himself in this year’s presidential election.
This year’s election compared to the election in 2012 is far more different in a sense that people are not taking it as seriously. Junior Amanda Garrow says “The last time I watched Trump on TV was when he was on ‘The Apprentice.’ He has never been a serious political figure and I just cannot take him seriously.”
For many Merrimack students this will be their first time voting for president but are people going to vote? Either way, students are in a position where they do not know if they should vote or not and if they do vote are they voting for the right reason.
