Students need to prepare for elections

By Brittanie Gutierrez |Staff Writer|

Elections are right around the corner and campaigns will soon be popping up all across the U.S.
In my opinion, we, as young adults, and voters need to care; this is our country and we decide whether to make positive changes or let a selfish politician decide what we need.
“Honestly, I only know who’s running because of history class,” said student Grace de la Vega.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is making her second attempt at presidency.
She has years of political experience from being Secretary of State, senator, delegate for United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, and as the First Lady of former President Bill Clinton.
“I’m excited Hillary Clinton is running. Women are great presidents in other countries,” said De la Vega.

“Women are going to vote for her just because she is a woman,” said student Jeanna Irsheid.
Texas senator Ted Cruz, who is from the Republican Party, is also back for a second run.
His change would be to bring back ‘No Child Left Behind’, which former President George W. Bush passed during his presidency.
To have young adults take interest in politics, we need to make politics approachable.
As student Theodore Baylis said, “We need more transparency.”
We are the ones who have a voice and the power to make change.
I identify as a Democrat and have done my research to know that I want to vote for Hillary Clinton.
The more I talk to people, the more I find out that not everyone knows what political party they identify with.
However, when I ask if they are passionate about certain issues, Pandora’s box opens.
Voters know what they want but seemingly are unsure of who can get the job done.
Media influences every aspect of our lives and candidates take advantage of this in both negative and positive ways.
The first thing I see on campaign pages are “Follow us on Instagram and Twitter” and “Like us on Facebook.”
I have seen ads with celebrities telling me to vote because “it’s the right thing to do.”
Commercials and ads only show candidates attacking their opponent instead of giving the audience facts about their own campaigns.
We see countless stories of corrupt politicians or scandals centered around private lives.
It is done for a reason: to hide the real issues.
In the next couple of months leading up to the 2016 elections, we will see young adults sparking interest in only one candidate because they will be overexposed.

“People don’t look for information, they stick to what they know. That creates biases,” said student Yvonne Leon.
When it comes time to vote, young adults would not have had time to read about every issue or candidate due to work, school, or family and end up voting for the most familiar name that has a positive connotation.
I know we are all busy or not interested, but elections are coming and big changes will be made.