Young and Female: The most vulnerable combination
by Ariel Gomez
In the upcoming midterm election, 21-year-old Hannah Jacks won’t let her voice go unheard in the polls in her home state of Missouri. A voice that as a young person and a woman she feels is all too often silenced.
Jacks, a senior studying Political Science, Spanish and Public Policy and Administration, believes exercising one’s right to vote has never been more crucial because we are in a time when the American people seem to be so misinformed.
“The lack of understanding and willingness to try to understand…has led the country to be polarized on issues of immigration, gun laws, and health care,” she said. “Very few people are willing to change their minds on the topics they care about, which prevents them from having conversations about issues that matter, that must be worked on and changed.”
Jacks is especially concerned on what the midterms could mean for the health care and immigration climates in our country.
“Health care always seems like the first and easiest policy that lawmakers can infringe on or take away,” she said. “Affordable and convenient health care seems like a dream to someone like me, but it seems like it should be guaranteed.”
However, Jacks is not only concerned about how this election may impact her, but also what it could mean for those closest to her.
“Immigration issues…are important to me because I’ve witnessed the struggle from close friends and coworkers who have become family to me. I’ve seen the humanity behind the issue,” she said. “I wish everyone could see and understand the reality of…the lives of immigrants, instead of believing the rhetoric and stereotypes that are thrown around by our politicians.”
At the end of the day, these are the issues that will be most influential in how Jacks votes in November. A vote she says will most likely go to Democrat Claire McCaskill, who supports dreamers, has a one-hundred percent lifetime rating by the Planned Parenthood, and equally as important to Jacks has an F rating from the NRA.
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