FAU Students Pick Their Future Presidential Candidates

A poll of students taken from the Breezeway shows who they’re voting for in the upcoming presidential election and why.

Brandon Harrington

Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor

Jesús Lopez, Contributing Writer

College students around the nation are favoring two presidential candidates – and one of them isn’t Donald Trump.

Textbook-rental company Chegg has released data from a poll of 2,289 college students, revealing the opinions students have on the upcoming Presidential election.

The results show that students nationwide are in favor of Democrat Bernie Sanders or Republican Dr. Ben Carson taking office – Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb Bush coming in second.

The UP took to the Breezeway to hear where Florida Atlantic students stand on those running


 

  • Presidential Preference Primary Election: March 15, 2016
  • Primary Election: August 30, 2016
  • General Election: November 8, 2016

 

 

THE STUDENTS

A handful of students were chosen at random along the Breezeway and were asked a series of questions. The 25 participants, which included a variety of grades and majors, were asked two questions:

  1. Who are you voting for?
  2. Why are you voting for that candidate?

Here’s what some of them had to say:

Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor
Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Edit

“I believe that if we want change, and if we want to send a message to Washington and say that they cannot mess with our rights as individuals to express ourselves and our full political and social potential, it’s time to send Bernie Sanders. If we want to say ‘no’ to big businesses taking away our rights, and ‘no’ to a corrupt campaign and finance system that allows billionaires to buy elections: Bernie Sanders.” –Doug Oberman, Junior, Public safety and administration

Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor
Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor

“I believe [Donald Trump] is saying what a lot of us are thinking and he says it very bluntly and how it needs to be said.” –Morgan Guigon, Sophomore, Meteorology

Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor
Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor

“There’s generally a rejection of mainstream politicians which is why I think Trump is doing so well. Sanders seems to be more authentic, and his authenticity comes off as weird to people. Also, it’s the economy, stupid, and he’s just a good guy.” –Ian Blake, Senior, Economics

Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor
Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor

“[Sanders] is a democrat and he stands for what I believe in. And I feel like he will make choices that are liberal and will unify us more as people.” –Ovid Paul, Freshman, Psychology

Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor
Photo by Brandon Harrington | Photo Editor

“I’ll be voting for Hillary Clinton. Foreign policy is the most important thing. As culture grows, foreign policy will become our priority. She was also one of the great Secretaries of State.” –Christian Ramirez, Senior, Philosophy

THE CONCLUSION

To summarize the results, out of the 25 people interviewed, 60 percent were for Bernie Sanders, while votes for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump were split at 16 percent each.

Trump garnered support because he is a businessman, and his economic skills could help this economy drastically. In addition, he is a bold speaker, and is not afraid to say what is on people’s minds.

As for Clinton, she got support for being liberal, being a woman, having a husband who has been president before and having experience as Secretary of State.

However, why is there majority support for Sanders? Compiling all of the students’ comments, there were two common themes: favor of Sanders himself and his platform.

Students like Sanders because he is liberal, open-minded and seemingly more genuine than the other political candidates. They also believe that Bernie will support this millennials, push America forward, and is on the same page with this generation’s issues (such as supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, marriage equality, cost of college, etc.)