Read what nearly 50 folks around Michigan State University said in February about the 2016 presidential election. Then add your own comments.
“This election could prove to be very interesting because of the highly volatile party front runners. Trump’s wild personality or Cruz’s beliefs and Clinton’s pending FBI investigation are going to make quite the decisions for voters. This is where it gets interesting with the possible independent ticket of former New York mayor and mega billionaire Michael Bloomberg.”
“I am very worried because I am on the Trump-Train and Ted Cruz proved himself in the Iowa Caucus. I really dislike Hillary and think that Donald is the only one who take her out of the running.”
"I think the biggest concern with the upcoming election is that people who aren’t politically intelligent or have never voted before will make poor decisions in an election that already has weak candidates running.”
“I think that this country is so tired of traditional politicians, that it’s given an opportunity for people like Carley Fiorina, Ben Carson and Donald Trump to have a legitimate chance at being elected. The issue with that it is has caused more coverage on the things that Trump says than the actual resolutions of problems.”
Clark Kingston Freshman Packaging First time voter 19 “There are a couple of things that will have my vote this election, but candidates that focus on environmental issues will get my ballot”.
Jake Earid Junior Packaging Major First time voter 20 “ As a first time voter, I really hope that the president cares about the average citizen”.
Emily Lenerz Sophomore Dietetics First time voter 19 “My presidential vote depends on a reliable person. Primarily, I don’t want an actor as president, but, someone who’s genuine”.
“One of the major issues that the Republicans face is that there are way too many candidates on the stage. At this point in the race, there should only be about three candidates debating for each party.”
“It is difficult to believe anything that is being covered in the media or being said from the candidates for that matter. With all the candidates focusing on what he said she said and what they voted for in the past and whom they’ve donated money to, we have been here before and it is very difficult to find the things coming out of their mouths to be factual. I don’t like how the candidates attack each other rather than focusing on heir plans for different policies.”
"I feel like Donald trump is the problem. He's ignorant and he says a lot of racist things about people in this country and I just think he is the path of destruction."
"I like Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, and I don't like anyone from the Republican side. I just don't agree with their views."
“Of course I’m going to vote. It’s the only way we have any say in government. It’s how we don’t have a dictatorship, why wouldn’t you vote?”
"The problems with the 2016 presidential election is the lack of communication. To me it seems as if the presidential candidates have not been getting their views across."
“I think that the refugee crisis should be a topic of discussion during the election, I think that some candidates don’t want them here, but where else are they going to go? Those people need a safe place.”
"I like Bernie Sanders and Marco Rubio right now. For Bernie, I like his stance on income inequality. For Rubio, I like his stance on foreign affairs and national security."
"It is very interesting. it is also important for international students to know about the election because the one who eventually become president, will have large impact on the future career decision of those international students."
"One step forward just to take two steps back, is how I feel about this year's presidential election. I feel that some of the candidates will digress our country instead of advance and improve it."
"Bernie Sanders is my favorite candidate because he is targeting the youth, on the lower and middle class."
“Definitely one thing is that they stand for women’s rights, so that goes toward reproductive rights, and anything of that essence.”
“I think some issues that should be discussed within the election are national security and also terrorism.I think that’s a big deal.”
"I think economic and immigration issues will be the most important for this year's election. I'm interested in whichever candidate would most support free education and equal opportunities for everyone."
“Somebody who just knows what they’re doing,” Bilden said. “Not someone who is going to tell some empty lie, then go and do something else.”
"I'm not from the United States, I'm from Kenya, but I am concerned with how some presidential candidates want to get rid of immigrants. Our politics in Kenya are completely different than here."
“The way Bernie Sanders talks about it, free tuition will be available in the next 10 years. While I’m a big supporter for that, it makes me angry because none of that is going to help me now. I’m going to be graduating and have to pay for my student loans, which are not pretty, and then have to also pay for some other kids’ too? That’s not fair to me, and not fair to my generation”. -Jeffrey Morgan, Freshman, Electrical Engineering
"The controversy with global involvement is something that will be huge during this election. Especially Donald Trump's opposing views compared to everyone else. His misogyny is what really bothers me."
“The candidates’ policies on immigration are important to me. Our country was founded by immigrants seeking a better life, and that is what immigrants still want today. It’s awful that they’re mostly labeled as terrorists instead, when people born in America commit bad acts, too.”
“I’m a big proponent of the Family and Medical Leave Act. I want to see a candidate extend it so that new parents have more time with their family, and so that men can stay home with the children. When I’m in the work force, I want my husband to be a part of staying home and raising our kids.”
“I’ve got bigger problems to worry about than listening to a whole bunch of rich people try to screw me out of even more of my paycheck. It doesn’t matter who gets in office I’m still going to have to work just as hard or even harder to achieve my goals. I don’t really see anything really changing”. -Sye’tah Wells, Junior, Bio Med Major
“I don’t like Trump. I think he’s a bigot. Definitely not fit to be the president. He’s a smart guy and all but, shouldn’t represent our country.”
“A lot of things kind of worry me about this years election. The fact that Trump, who all of us pretty much thought was a joke at the time, is actually doing really well is kind of crazy. I actually was considering him to maybe have the best chance of changing anything, from a business perspective. However, I think he might cause some sort of racial divide."
“I hate politics. It’s boring. Trump? He’s not good. Clinton? I don’t even know. I mean, I wouldn’t want to vote for Clinton just ‘cause she’ll be the first female president of the U.S., like I don’t want to be biased.”
“I’m looking for someone who is honest and transparent," Mazur said. "Someone who has similar ideologies as I do."
“The most important issue to me is gun control. I’m a hunter, and it’s getting out of hand how difficult it is to hunt between states. I’m going to vote for the guy who’s not belittled easily, and who stands up for my amendment rights.”
“I think the most important issues for this election are income inequality, the right to a free education and the right to free health care. I think that another really important issue is the way the campaign finance systems are absolutely corrupted. I think that the United States needs to fix its own issues before we can go meddling around with other people’s problems world-wide.”
"“Probably the most important issue, for me, is probably economic issues, like income inequality. I can sense that’s what the public wants to talk about is this crazy, crazy income gap. That’s really important because I think a lot of other social issues stem from that. So like, by trying to fix that first, then we can start fixing things like urban decay and education. To me, the economic part of that is foundational to the rest.”
"The personality of the person matters to me. I’d vote for someone who seems like a genuine kinda person. I think gun control’s the most important to me. It’s ridiculous here."
“I would say that income inequality is probably one of the biggest issues. I also think that abortion rights are important, and they need to be figured out. Women’s labor rights need to be talked about. And also, I would say, immigration laws.”
"I think that the issue that Bernie Sanders has framed, in terms of calling for a political revolution, how the top one percent is controlling the wealth, to me is a really smart thing to base your campaign around. I’m not necessarily saying I’m for Sanders."
"In the case of gun control we could use a little more of it. Right now, we have none of it and having a little more restriction might help."