Adrianna Rochester – General Assignment Reporter
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two of the most unpopular major party candidates on record, especially when compared to the 2012 elections.
Both have unfavorable ratings of more than 50 percent, according to recent NPR polls. Many are deciding to vote for a third-party candidate instead of picking Trump or Clinton, while others have not yet decided who to vote for.
At Southern Connecticut State University students like McKenzie Katz, a sociology and women’s studies major, said she has been following the election and, although she was originally a supporter for the Bernie Sanders campaign, she said as a first time voter, the election is important simply because of who is running in the race.
“I was planning on voting either way, but now I feel it’s more important now than ever because of the current presidential candidates,” Katz said.
As a member of the LGBT community, Katz said, it is clear to her that Trump cannot run the presidential office. She said as much as she would like to put her faith into libertarian candidate Johnson, she strongly believes he will not be able to deliver any promises he has made to the nation.
Katz said her vote will most likely go to democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton because she is more qualified than Trump to run the country. Another reason she said she is voting for Clinton is out of default: Trump is an absolute no. So after going down her checklist, Katz said it was obvious Clinton is the only option left.
“With the current polls, people are starting to realize that there is a libertarian candidate who can be all we hope for, but that doesn’t mean he is going to win,” she said, “so many people are left with a default–Hilary or Trump.”
“If Trump were to win, I want to leave, move to Canada. But I’m scared to because this is such a liberal state, I fear it is going to become conservative, which would make it harder to go or stay,” Katz said.
The fact that her rights as a member of the LGBT community will be taken away under Trump’s presidency is something that is not appealing to her, she said. Under Trump’s leadership she believes her life and the lives of others will be endangered all over the country and that is somethings she also said is unappealing to her.
“To live through persecution and oppression is something I can’t see myself going through and if Trump were to win that’s exactly what would happen,” she said.
If Clinton were to win, Katz said she hopes she stands behind her word: shows the people that we are a nation that needs to protect itself and truly step up to the plate because many doubt her ability to properly run the country at home and abroad.
Despite polls showing how unpopular these two candidates are, the national polling average, according to the New York Times, shows Clinton with a 43 percent lead and Trump is behind with 41 percent.
Nonetheless some students, like Tevin James, a business major, are unimpressed by everything that has transpired in this year’s race to the White House.
James said he does not vote and does not plan on voting in November because he does not think either politician has the people’s best interest at heart.
“Politics is just another business institution that focuses on profit and making promises to advance their own personal means with little to no intention in actually standing behind the changes politicians promise to the people,” James said.
Members of the one percent, he said, will always profit more because money has a great influence in politics and the needs of the people do not go before their pockets, therefore he isn’t taking part in electing either Trump or Hillary into office.
