As campaign season hits its peak, it’s impossible to go anywhere without seeing bumper stickers or yard signs reading that “there will be hell toupee” or “Hillary for prison.” While such a touchy topic hits close to home for many, Pawprint knows it’s something very important and relevant to our students here at Maryville University. For this article, we’d like to say that Pawprint doesn’t have an opinion or support one candidate stronger than the other. This topic may be sensitive to some and we want to warn those that there may be triggers in these arguments. However, we asked two students to share their points of view on why they support their candidates.
To get an accurate representation of the Maryville student body political preference, we tweeted a poll that was open for one week on Oct. 13, 2016 that read, “Of these two candidates, who are you voting for this election?” People could either select Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump or simply refrain from voting. The results were in favor of Donald Trump. Out of 193 people to answer the survey, 66 percent (127/193) voted for Trump, while 34 percent (66/193) voted for Clinton.
DownHILL; I’m Not With Herby Andrew Mandziara*Without involving the massive scope both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are under, I choose to look at policies and who would fit best as the highest-ranking position as the head of the United States of America. This means I am not talking about Hillary deleting emails and ultimately being responsible for the four Americans lost in Benghazi, wanting to kill unborn children, laughing at women who were raped, or the comments Donald Trump has said about women. You cannot brush away Hillary’s FBI Investigation and focus on Donald’s word choice, and vice versa. The double standard on both sides has to end. Donald Trump has laid out plans to tax businesses that want to place their factories overseas by implementing a 35% tax increase on goods they sell. There is no way a company can stay viable with that in place, and those companies like Ford, Apple, and any cell phone carrier will return to American shores and create jobs for Americans. Donald Trump wants to utilize the resources we have available right here at home via oil and natural gas. Why do people grow gardens when they can go to the store and buy the same food? Green Energy under the Clinton administration will lay off workers, compromise wildlife, and erode the earth. There are multiple reasons and explanations but I think the main thing for me is that of the two candidates that were elected to run by our country in the primary vote, I feel as though Trump is the better of the two. Granted, neither candidate is my first choice. I just try to stay more realistic, despite what some people think about me. I think that for me, it’s important we take care of our country first. Under Hillary, refugees will come before Veterans. Anyone that’s not Native American in this country is an immigrant. My family was immigrants when they came here during the Second World War. So I’m not against legal immigration at all. If we were to elect Presidents based on what they say in every speech throughout their campaign, it would be hard to find one in this country’s history that didn’t say obscure, rude, or outlandish things. Our country’s fiscal footprint has to change. For example, last time I looked up statistics on our country’s finances, we import around 780 million in goods/resources from Mexico alone, and only export 350 million. So to that ONE country alone, our country loses roughly 400 million every.single.year. Under the Obama administration, I believe our country has taken a massive step back. There are higher racial tensions among Americans, and now there is gender tension created by the liberal media. We cannot decide what bathroom to use or are offended if someone attempts to be respectful by calling someone sir or ma’am. Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in America and yet the highest murder rate. More government and more restriction are not what I believe will solve our problems. I do not need or want the government to tell me what doctor to go to, what bathroom to use, or what to say/where to stand during the playing of the National Anthem or Pledge of Allegiance. This nation was founded because the former Government our ancestors were under was too restrictive. Donald Trump will give Americans the opportunity to be successful again, to be safe again, and to be great again like we know we can be. Career politicians are not the answer to me. If Hillary Clinton wanted to make a difference to our country, she had multiple decades and opportunities to do so. Of the two remaining candidates, Donald Trump is the lesser of two evils, and has earned my vote on November 8th. Student Supporters “To be totally honest, [I support] Trump, for more reasons than this, but the biggest being Hillary should be in jail, not in the White House…and I just hate the Clintons and [I am] a Republican.” –Carli Henrotay, junior. “D.C is corrupt & an outsider like [Trump] is needed to come in with new perspectives and is not owned by a big corporation. [I am also in support of the] National Security Policy. (Yes, building a wall is dramatic, but so is completely opening up borders, not to mention dangerous.) [As far as the] Supreme Court issue, the next president will nominate possibly 5 judges that will effect America for a lot longer than the next president will. If [Pence, Trump’s running mate], is the first person Trump has hired, I have hope for what he will do in the office.” –Abbey Johnson, sophomore. “I support Donald Trump because he is not a politician. He is a successful business man who succeeded in five hundred business ventures and only went bankrupt in four. He took those four bankruptcies and renegotiated their deals, sometimes selling his own personal property or forfeiting a higher position, such as CEO, in order to settle his debts. He has raised most of his money on the donations of his supporters and is not bought by anyone except the American people- the only people a politician should be bought by. Throughout his life, there are stories that show great examples of his character. In 2008 he sheltered Jennifer Hudson and her family after some of their members were brutally murdered. He has helped communities of all ethnicities and religions on their feet, especially the communities of New York. I support his free trade policy and his lowering of taxes- especially on low to middle class families like my own. I have watched my parents and family struggle to feed and support the six kids we had at home, and no family should ever have to suffer that much for working so hard- especially to give the 1% and big government a leg up. I support his building up of our military, and his foreign policy- especially involving the destruction of ISIS and the renegotiation of the Iran deal. As well as building strong relationships with Russia and restoring relationships with those such as Israel so that our world may work together to come to peace and remain at peace. I love that he is 100% against ObamaCare and plans to appeal and replace it. My stance as a pro-life woman and a 2nd amendment supporter/potential gun owner prompts me to vote for him knowing he will elect upstanding and Christian Supreme Court Justices who will uphold the precious gift of life and allow the people of American to continue to protect themselves. I am a Catholic and deserves the protection to practice my faith in peace, with no more persecution from our government and the hater’s of our country; and he promises the protection of all beliefs. His talk of stopping illegal immigration is one of the biggest reason I support him. Our country is at risk of being attacked by those who hide among the “innocent” that cross our borders. There are drug dealers, rapists, murderers, psychopaths, and members of terrorist organizations who are flooding into our country through our borders. It is time to build a wall like China and Mexico have to protect their country from invaders. His respect for women, despite his lewd and disturbing comments made with another man in private, is upstanding and something we haven’t seen from a man as rich and powerful as he is. His family consists of strong, smart, charismatic, beautiful children who are the proof of Mr. Trump’s great character. His talk of unity among all people is inspiring and refreshing. No matter your ethnicity, your class, your sexuality, your gender, your age, your religion, or where you came from- if you are a United States citizen, he will put you first. He puts America first. Those are the reason why I support Donald Trump.” -Anna Hawkins, sophomore* |
Dump Trumpby Sarah HeetDear Maryville students, I’m disheartened by the support of Donald Trump. While I know there are some valid reasons for not supporting Hillary, I’d sooner vote for her (or my dog, Kim Kardashian, Joe Biden, a sloth or wasabi) than I would Donald Trump. “We get you don’t support Trump, but that doesn’t explain why you are Team Hillary?” There are many reasons, but I think the one that people seem to ignore no matter how often it’s said; I’m voting for Hillary Clinton, first and foremost, because she is not Donald Trump. While that should be reason enough, I will go ahead and list some of her many qualifications. She has broken down gender barriers by becoming the first First Lady in the United States to win a public office seat. She has been in public service longer than most of us have been alive. She is supportive of healthcare for those in need and those with preexisting conditions. She is pro-choice. She is supportive of LGBTQ rights. She wants to ensure every child across the globe has access to education. I’m voting for Hillary, because she hasn’t bragged about committing sexual assault. I’m voting for Hillary, because she doesn’t mock people with disabilities. I’m voting for Hillary, because she doesn’t believe that every Muslim is a terrorist. When I was appalled by the majority of Maryville’s students voting for Trump, I was told, “Maryville is a private university with a majority of white, upper-middle class, Republican students. I’m not surprised.” You don’t have to be a minority to fight for the minorities. You don’t have to be an LGBTQ to fight for equal rights or be black to argue Black Lives Matter. To clarify, the majority of our student body openly supports someone who makes light of sexual assault, publicly mocks people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, interracial people, women and overweight people? To me, this isn’t an argument about whether or not Hillary has lied or scammed. This isn’t an argument about her husband’s history or infidelity. This isn’t an argument about left versus right or Republican versus Democrat. This is a matter of humanity and civil rights. This is a human thing. The choice seems simple: a person who is openly racist and hateful or a person that has been in public service as long as most Maryville students have been alive. But yes, let’s “Make America Great Again.” And by that, I mean let’s not vote for someone who considers an ideal human being to be a rich, white, slender man who likes guns and ‘Merica. Student Supporters “Personally, this election has been very disappointing and disturbing. After President Obama’s election, I thought that the disrespect couldn’t get worse but candidates have then taken disrespect of individuals and groups of people to a new height. Seeing a candidate openly make discriminatory and racist comments against Muslims, African Americans, Mexicans, people who are disabled AND state how he sexually assaults women still be in the running for president is more than shameful. All of these things and more is why “I’m With Her.” Hillary Clinton has been accountable for her actions, had years of political experience and her morals have not been questioned during this election. Even though I still have hope that somehow, some way Bernie Sanders will become president, I will be more than happy at the election of the first female president.” -Chinyere Turner, senior “For me, it’s just choosing the lesser of the two evils, if that makes sense. I am voting for Hillary Clinton. I couldn’t ever vote for a person that degrades other humans for what they are. Whether that is being a woman, a part of the LGBTQ community, their ethnicity or culture. Hillary Clinton isn’t the best, I understand that, but her whole career in life has been with politics and she carries a strong background of experience. I am going to vote for her, because I believe that she wouldn’t act on impulse and [would] think about her actions as the leader and President of America. She has experience, she has wisdom and I stand with her for the sake of our nation.” –Marissa Polumbus, junior “Im voting for Hillary Clinton. To me the biggest issues of this election are health care, foreign policy, and the economy. Obamacare was a huge step forward but needs work, not repeal. I think she’s the candidate who will best understands the need for accessible healthcare for all and will find a way to get it done. Her foreign policy experience is tremendous. A leader who knows what it takes to get things done while also understanding the importance of diplomacy. Her plan to raise taxes on those making over $250,000 a year is good step for the economy. Although I’m not completely sold on her economic policies, especially allocations towards entitlement programs, but trumps plan for trickle down economics is a system that’s proven to be a failure countless times throughout history and will hurt the economy and stunt job growth. We haven’t had a candidate with as wide array of political experience perhaps ever. She’s not perfect. No one is saying that she is. We have come a long way since the recession in 2008. Her experience is something this country needs to keep us moving forward and that is why I’m with her.” -Nathan Vorel, senior* |
Pawprint’s Conclusion:
Elections are one week away, Nov. 8, 2016. Make sure you do your research, and get out and vote.
Even though we all have an opinion when it comes to politics, it’s important that we can come together and professionally and eloquently share our reasoning for supporting each candidate. This article does not represent the views of the Maryville Pawprint. The Maryville Pawprint has no opinion in this topic and is an unbiased news source. Submissions and columns for this article were voluntary opinions to showcase both viewpoints.
Let us remember that even though we have a lot at stake when we vote for who will run the United States for the next four to eight years, we still are a Maryville family. Please be respectful of your classmates and colleagues opinions. We are One Team, One Family.
*Names with asterisks by them were reader or former staff submissions. Facts in these submissions were not checked.
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