As college students, we’re busy. We have classes and studying and work and so many other things that take up our time and make our lives hectic. Who has time to keep up with the current candidates for the presidential election? It’s hard when we’re busy and we don’t have the time nor the interest to watch the news or read lengthy articles. So I’m going to give you what is basically a review sheet on what candidates and issues you should know about.
Planned Parenthood has been an important issue throughout the campaign season. It provides affordable health care and also helps educate young people about sex. It helps countless young people recieve the care that they need. Of all the front runner candidates all of the republican candidates want to defund planned parenthood and none of them would protect a woman’s right to birth control. All the republicans are opposed to abortions. The democrats are in full support of Planned Parenthood and support a woman’s right to birth control and her right to choose when it comes to abortions.
The issue of immigration doesn’t have the candidates split so evenly so I’ll just mention the front runners.
Democrats: Hillary Clinton supports a fence between the U.S. and Mexico but also wants more paths to legal citizenship. O’Malley recognizes a problem but supports giving college tuition aid to illegal immigrants. Sanders has voted against numerous measures to deal with illegal immigration.
Republicans: Bush is sympathetic to immigrants but does acknowledge that people are taking advantage of the system. Christie has helped illegal immigrants attend college but denied them state-aid. Cruz wants to end birth-right citizenship in order to stop “anchor babies.” Fiorina supports granting citizenship to children illegally raised here. Huckabee also wants to get rid of birth-right citizenship but has programs to help illegal immigrants. Rubio believes in a wall and does not support amnesty. Carson would like amnesty for farm workers. Trump wants to build and wall and have Mexico pay for it; he also wants to get rid of birth right citizenship to children not born to current citizens of the United States.
On college education it wasn’t easy to find out what all the candidates thought.
Bernie Sanders is one candidate that touches on an issue close to our hearts: college tution. He wants college to be more affordable. College loans should be refinanced and forgiven. He doesn’t believe we should be in debt for the rest of our lives for furthering our education.
Marco Rubio believes that there are too many 4 year college graduates so it would improbable to assume that he would be interested in decreasing the amount that college costs because the cost just continues to make it more exclusive.
Rand Paul would keep the current loans in effect even though tuition prices are increasing every year. And he would only keep them IF they are within the spending limits.
Hiliary Clinton believes tax cuts should go to student loans instead of corporations.
Jeb Bush guarenteed college admission to the top 20% in Florida schools.
There are so few opinions among the candidates about helping college students and the rising cost of college tuition. Do you know why? It’s because we are uninvolved! So few of us vote or actually pay attention to the election that the candidates don’t bother to concern themselves with issues that we are facing.
WE CAN CHANGE THAT!
So pay attention to the next debate and don’t turn the news off! Make them take notice of us! Turn out in the polls and make our voices and our problems heard. We are a powerful generation, connected by social media, let’s use that to our advantage and connect to the people that will be running OUR country. Let’s make them be on our side.