Whether you’re a part of the graduating class of 2016 or 2020, the next president will change America’s future for better or for worse. Democrat or Republican, it’s essential to know who may be representing America for the next four years.
“I believe the next president could affect me greatly,” said senior Isaiah Wheeler. “I'm now enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, so the next president could cause me to have to fight in a war.”
The Republican candidate still in the running is Donald Trump after Senator Ted Cruz and Governor John Kasich dropped out of the race in early May. In the Democratic Party, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders are currently running.
Some may think that because they can’t vote, there’s no point in knowing who’s fighting to be the Commander-in-chief but it’s important to know. The next president could change education, health care, immigration, the economy, and more that may affect everyday life for all Americans.
“We've got to do a better job voting locally and statewide,” said U.S. history teacher Tyrone Spencer.
Trump has vowed to reform America’s education by dismantling the Department of Education and Common Core Standards. Trump’s goal behind dissolving the DoE is to return education to the “local level” so bureaucrats in Washington can't control education standards despite states having control over their education standards.
“It's only so much you can do at the federal level and it always boils down to your state and local level officials,” said Spencer.
Despite Trump’s infamy for inciting violence at his rallies and using “divisive” language, he is quite popular amongst certain voters. Some Democratic voters went as far as voting for other Republican candidates to keep Trump from getting the nomination.
“Donald Trump comes off as a bad person,” said junior Brandon Lyons.
Democratic nominees Clinton and Sanders take similar approaches to reforming education. Clinton and Sanders want to make college debt free and cut the interest rate on student loans, but their plans to achieve this are different. Sanders, along with making college debt free, wants to make college tuition free. To do this, Sanders says he will stop the federal government from profiting from student loans and require colleges to meet all financial needs of low-income students. To pay for the expenses of the plan, Sanders will raise taxes on Wall Street speculators. Clinton says under her New College Compact students attending a four-year college or university won’t have to take out loans for tuition and those colleges will make tuition affordable, and those attending a community college won’t pay tuition.
Despite naysayers, many support Clinton because they believe she's the best candidate due to her past experience in the White House as Secretary of State. Dealing with leaders internationally has awarded Clinton respect that none of the other candidates have.
“Being able to deal with foreign countries is big when you talk about a leader who's done that before,” said Spencer.
