Illustrations by Priyoshi Kapur.
F Newsmagazine surveyed 184 students — 151 of them U.S. citizens, 23 international students — on how (or if) they planned on voting in the 2016 presidential election. Seventy-four percent of students who were citizens had already registered to vote, while 26 percent said they had yet to register. Those surveyed overwhelming supported Hillary Clinton, while Bernie Sanders and Mickey Mouse mounted a brief campaign in the write-in portion. Students were also surveyed on their political affiliation, and what issue they thought was most important in this election.
Overwhelmingly, SAIC students are unhappy with their choices this election cycle. One student wrote in the comments section, “Everybody sucks, pls help.”
“There’s no honesty. People don’t know right from left,” wrote Kelsey Becker on the comments section of her survey.
Students seem to be united, however, on the subject of Donald Trump — “Trump” was the issue students pointed to as most important in this election.
Everybody sucks, pls help
“…[I]t baffles me that Donald Trump has not dropped out. From observations of his character, failed business ventures, and controversial statements: lying about talking to specific people, insulting a grieving mother, claiming to have sacrificed in business ventures, not refusing the support of a Ku Klux Klan wizard, encouraging Russia to hack his political rival—and so on,” wrote student Mono Acosta.
Students were also nostalgic about the runner-up in the democratic primary: “Yes, I want Bernie not Hillary, but I’ll vote for her a thousand times even though she’s awful because the bottom line is that she isn’t Trump, and in this election I think people are forgetting that,” wrote an anonymous student.
Some expressed apathy in the face of the political tumult. “This is just a performance, a TV show,” wrote an anonymous student. “I don’t believe that elections change important things, only things that are designed to be changeable.”
If you’re an SAIC student and you still need to register to vote, visit engage.saic.edu and click on the Turbovote link. Otherwise, follow these easy steps. You’re on your way to patriotism!
- Go to vote.usa.gov
- Select your state from the drop-down menu.
- The website will then take you to the appropriate form for your state. Be careful, though — while some states (like Colorado and Connecticut) allow you to register in-person on election day, other states have a deadline for registration a month before the election. The deadline for many states is October 8.
- If you need to get an absentee ballot, visit usvotefoundation.org.
- After you have filled out the request form, mail it to the appropriate office. You’ll receive a ballot in the mail within a week or so. Be sure to send it to your county before November 8.
