Gallery

Read what students are saying about the midterm elections

 

 

“I really, honestly, would not let anything stop me from voting, because as a black woman, my community has come so far just to be able to vote.”

-Zherah Collier

 

 

 

 

 

“I respect a politician respecting the Presidency, whether or not I like him as a person.”

– Fiona O’Doherty

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The political conversation is meant to be progressive and stimulating – not aggressive or unruly.”

– Erika Parjus 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I believe in exercising my constitutional rights. We have been endowed with an awesome power to elect our representatives and we must use it at all times.”

-Aaron Misner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“[Voting is] a basic, fundamental way in which all citizens, more or less, can get involved in politics, depending on the barriers that are there. It’s one of the few ways in which your voice can be heard and genuinely makes a difference.”

-Annie Salyers

 

 

 

 

 

“I think that it is necessary that women are sort of coming up in politics, and someone has to see and support that. And like it’s not just going to be one person. It’s going to be male and female.”

 

-Mahdi Khan

 

 

 

 

“Terms like ‘the right side of history’ and things like ‘if you’re not with us you’re somehow inherently jagged as a human being.’ I just don’t like that kind of attitude. It strikes me as deliberate and nasty, you know?”

-Joshua Kam

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The big issues for me are climate change, gun control. If we devoted the time we spend on Trump’s tweets to fixing climate change and gun control we’d get more done. We let him rent space in our heads.”

-Joe Gallo

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I am voting because it is our civic duty. I think it’s really important because people have fought long and hard to give women the opportunity to vote and I think it’s important that we take advantage of that.”

-Charin Khan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I think as a young person it is important to understand, even if you come from a blue state like me, that your voice does matter and that your opinions are heard.”

-Claire Coen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I vote because I don’t think my voice matters in a lot of ways when it comes to politics, but voting is one way that I can be directly involved in the political process.”

-Jack “JJ” Joseph

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I still feel guilty about not voting in 2016. Since then, I’ve had a reminder on my phone to get my absentee ballot.

-Neil Leisenring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The only other time I’ve voted I’ve been in Iowa so it’s been easy for me, so this is my first time voting somewhere else. Something that my college did was they had it so you could register to vote on campus, and then they had early voting on campus which was really convenient and they would take vans to polling places so that just made voting more accessible to students.”

-Sidney Larsen

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s a privilege to have … so by voting we are paving the way for a better future.”

-Emily Billado

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Not a lot of people in our age group understand the importance of midterm elections. Midterms make or break a presidency. When different parties control the House and the Senate, legislation grinds to a halt.”

-Gerard Bickel

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Free speech [is an] issue on [AU] campus, [especially] where conservatives feel like their voice is muffled.”

-Christopher Reichert

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s funny, most of … my liberal friends back home are planning on voting. But the Republican ones, not so much.”

-Gabe Benavides

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Presidential elections get a lot of coverage but no one really cares about midterms.”

-Julia Friedland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I think the fundamental right to vote is one thing that makes our country unique and different and is the one opportunity that gives everyone a voice to kind of say their own opinions and say how they want the country to be shaped.

-Brendan McShane

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I think first of all there should be automatic registration.”

 

-Sam Rogers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Every vote counts, that’s how I look at it. If the youth decide to vote, good for them. If not, then okay this is your world and your freedom you’re affecting.”

 

 

-Joey Grant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I think that it can be incredibly discouraging if you feel like your representatives are not acting on your behalf. So in reaction to that I think millennials might become apathetic.”

-Jane Rothstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I also vote because I feel if I want to complain about politics I should participate in them.”

-Michael Quick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I would say that, for as entrenched and confusing and polarized and complex as this nation’s politics have become, it has given you as a young voter more of a platform to make an impact… And for as long as you’ve been told that your voice is heard via your one vote, this might be the first time to believe it.”

-Arianna Alter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I know that if and when I decide to have children, [climate change] is going to be such a significant aspect of their lives.”

-Nathan Wright