JOUR 3190 hit the campus of the University of Georgia, to conduct an informal survey of the freshman point of view on the 2016 presidential race.
Eight of the 12 freshmen interviewed, were not registered to vote.
The four who are registered to vote had strong opinions about the 2016 election. Over half of those interviewed, when asked, said they would choose Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, calling her “the lesser of two evils”.
Those freshmen who were registered to vote came from families where politics where discussed more than the unregistered voters. Tiffany Nguyen, a psychology major from Douglasville who is not registered to vote, said, “My parents never really talk about politics and I don’t know if they’ve voted before.”
“They are both iffy and if I had to choose it’d be super difficult,” said Mezi Mulugeca, a biology and English major from Kennesaw. “I would probably choose Clinton, cause Trump just rubs me the wrong way.”
Ten out of the 12 interviewed brought up either “immigration policies” or “sexist remarks” made by Trump as a factor as to why they are leaning more towards Clinton. However, seven out of the 12 said that they felt like they had no choice in this year’s election process.
Mulugeca said, “My parents are more republican. Whereas, my father is a little more Donald Trump, my mom is just kinda hating both of them. My father would not like that I’m a Clinton supporter.”
Shemar Little, a biology and public health major from New York, said “At first I didn’t support Hillary or Trump at all, I supported Sanders.” Little’s family immigrated from the Caribbean and still has family living in Jamaica. “When it comes to immigration it is a very hot topic [for my family] and I would like for my grandmother to come to the United States to visit,” Little said. “But with tougher immigration laws it’s going to very difficult.”
In a survey conducted by The Pew Research Center of 2,010 adults found that 76 percent feel that undocumented immigrants are hard-working and honest people and 67 percent believe that immigrants are “no more likely to commit a serious crime.”
“Trump’s comments are very inappropriate, very derogatory toward many different people, religions, and ethnicities,” said Matthew Campbell, a biology major from Powder Springs. “Even if he has ‘business’ experience, it doesn’t matter, it’s how you present yourself.”
Eleven out of the 12 freshmen interviewed stated excitement for the ability to vote, but were not enthusiastic about this year’s presidential nominees. Nguyen said, “I’m not registered and I don’t plan on registering this election, because why would I back either. It seems like a lose lose situation.”
“My family is ultra Republican; that’s how I was raised,” said Miranda Brant, a finance major from Statesboro. “But I’m also not naïve enough to follow whoever the Republican nominee is and this year. I’m at a lose for words on who I will be casting my vote for.”