Presidential elections are quickly approaching and the students of Tallwood have voiced their opinions in regards to who should run our country.

Some students advocate for Clinton as the most competent candidate. Some dub her more fit for office than her opponents.  This is not to say Clinton supporters are enthusiastic.  Mark Mugler, Tallwood Senior, states, “I am voting for Hillary Clinton because I feel that she is the lesser of two evils, and I really do not want Trump to be in office.”

Maya Forbes, also a Senior, states, “I choose Hillary Clinton because she is rational, level headed, and just a little more eligible to be a president than Trump.”

“I would vote for Hillary Clinton for President, even though she is somewhat a liar,” states student Dominic Valeros.  “I believe that she knows more about foreign affairs than Donald.”

Certain students express a desire to have Clinton in office just to avoid the administration of one particular candidate.

Alex Nieves, Tallwood Student states, “I prefer Hillary Clinton because I don’t want someone who isn’t fully aware of his actions and how they impact others.  I also disagree with his campaign tactics, along with a lot of his policies that he believes in, especially the ones that involve women.”

Among the Tallwood population, there are a group of individuals who identify as third-party and independent. However, they gravitate toward Clinton on the principle that their candidate is ‘not likely’ to win.

Kaitlynn Fryar states, “My personal choice for the 2016 presidential election would be Jill Stein because I agree with a majority of her policies and beliefs for how the country should be run. Unfortunately, because she is a third party candidate, I doubt that I would vote for her because the way that our government is set up makes it almost impossible for third party candidates to win the presidency. If I were eligible to vote, I would vote for Hillary Clinton, but I would not be happy about it.”

Other students felt a third party was preferable, but not practical.  “My choice of the presidential election would have to be Hillary, sadly. I don’t like any of the candidates aside from Jill Stein, but I realize that the chances of third party winning are slim, and I want to ensure that Trump stays out of the white house,” says Zinyka Wessells.

Amanda Rosado, states, “My pick for the 2016 election would have to be for Hillary Clinton. I was originally going for Bernie Sanders, but … he didn’t make it to primaries, so I kind of just went along with her, as she was the most sane nominee. I prefer this candidate over the others because she actually has presented policies that can help us.”

It was fairly difficult to find students willing to voice their pro-Trump thoughts.  Some students, however, explained why their parents will be voting Trump on November 8.

Haylee Burel, Junior, states, “The reasons my parents are voting for Trump is the Benghazi ordeal. It affected American lives, and my parents are military, so they feel very strongly about protecting American lives.”  

Burel states her father is also concerned about Clinton’s views on gun control and mental illness, and he fears a Clinton presidency would bar him from owning firearms. “Since he has PTSD he wouldn’t be able to own these guns,” says Burel.

Xachariah Farmer, a Junior, also discussed his father’s aversion to Clinton’s gun control.  “According to him, Hilary’s gun control laws would hurt his ability to hunt, which is one of his favorite recreational activities,” says Farmer.

Given the fact that most Tallwood Students will not be eligible to vote until the presidential election of 2020, one can only hope that they will have a better opinion of those future candidates.