Scottie O’Brien
Staff Writer
The 2016 presidential election has been interesting, to say the least. The two presidential candidates, republican Donald Trump and democrat Hillary Clinton, both have characteristics and pasts unlike any previous candidate who has ever run for a position in the oval office, making for an unprecedented presidential race. With the decision of our next president in only a few short days, Jamesville-DeWitt High School students had their own opinions on the presidential election.
There was a wide variety of students who supported both major party candidates.
Many J-DHS students are hoping that the outspoken billionaire businessman turned politician, Trump, will be the man to truly “Make America Great Again.” Junior Devin Sarno believes in Trump’s abilities to fix the problems in the United States. “Trump is aggressive and straightforward. He will get things done,” says Sarno. Junior Nick Lorenzo agrees with Sarno. “Trump has got the better policies to fix the problems throughout the country. The biggest thing he will solve is illegal immigration, which is rampant in the South,” says Lorenzo. Junior Nico Modesti, who went to the Trump rally in Syracuse last school year is an avid supporter of the Republican nominee. “He’s economically very sound.” says Modesti, “he’s a successful businessman who could help our country’s debt. I think that his policies are much better for our country than Secretary Clinton’s are.”
The other side of the spectrum is “With Her.” Junior Maya Frieden hopes Clinton will become the next president. “It’d be really cool to finally have our first female president,” says Frieden, “but I like more about her than just the fact that she is a woman running.” Junior John Bridge prefers Secretary Clinton over any other option. “She’s clearly the most qualified,” says Bridge. Senior Claire Rigney has strong feelings against Trump. “He’s racist, he’s sexist and he’s more of a celebrity than a politician.” says Rigney. “I think that Hillary will be a better leader than any of the other candidates.” says senior Kate Salvo.
Despite different hopes of who will lead the future of the red, white, and blue, most J-DHS students felt that the presidential campaigning was a bad depiction of our country. “The campaigning was all dirty. It made the whole country look bad,” says freshman Logan Wing.
Though Trump and Hillary take up all of the media spot light, some students also supported some of the less talked about third party candidates. Juniors Mark Toscano and Mikey Anderson think that Libertarian Gary Johnson would be the best option for the country. “(Gary Johnson) is really funny and better than both Trump and Hillary,” says Toscano. “Gary Johnson is the man,” says Anderson.
For many J-DHS students, they found themselves in a position where they are unable to choose a favorite candidate. “Honestly I’m not really sure who I’d vote for because I don’t really like either of them,” says senior Casey Kretsch.
After all the campaigning, all the stories, and all the debates, the suspense of the last several months over the vital question of who will take over President Obama’s position in January will finally be answered on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Make sure to tune into any media outlet on Election Day when the next president is announced. “I will definitely be watching,” says senior Matt Cappelletti, “because whoever our next president is will go down in history, good or bad.”
