Election 2020 - Olivet's Take on the Presidential Election

Nov. 3 is quickly approaching, and while many people in Olivet and across the country have already voted by mail-in, others who wish to vote at the polls have yet to cast their votes.  It is not hard to find individuals who are very strongly supporting either candidate, but some are still deciding on who they wish to be in office for the next four years.

While it is common for college aged individuals to have little knowledge on politics, this election has sparked a large interest in the matter among young adults.  It is easily seen all over various social media sites that more and more young people are getting involved in many of the popular campaign topics.

Here at OC, there is support for both candidates across campus, as well as a significant amount of people who are still stuck in the decision on who to vote for.

“I think both candidates have made cases, but I also think they both don’t have what it takes to run our country… I also think they’re both kind of stupid,” said Jake Csizmadia, senior.

This seems to be a common reaction to the release of the candidates of each party, as this election has been described as a choice between ‘the lesser of two evils’ on many occasions.

Many people are hopeful for change in many areas after this presidential election, including climate change, COVID-19 and how it is handled, racial issues, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, and many more.  There are high hopes surrounding these topics and the need for protection of rights.

“I hope as a woman I still have all my rights, and I hope that people who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community will have the right to marry whoever they would like,” said Audrey Helfrich, junior.

There are also many expectations regarding COVID-19 and the many concerns nationwide about how it has been handled.  Drastic changes to these argued policies could result in significant differences to Olivet.

“Before Covid-19 I think Trump was doing great,” said Michael Fisk, junior. “But as many people would probably agree, as a nation we didn’t handle COVID-19 as well as we could have.”

Many others also have hopes for change in other areas, as is the case for Professor Craig Korpela, assistant professor of history and political science.  Korpela’s great interest in politics drives him to stay up to date on political events, especially those of such high importance as the general election.  Korpela discusses two personal hopes in particular, that he wants to see results in this election.

“It is my hope that the election stimulates one – an increase in awareness of issues by the OC community,” said Korpela. “ And two – Presidential and Congressional interest in additional vaccine research, job creation, and another Cares Act.”

COVID-19 concerns seem to be the top priority in today’s world, and it has the potential to affect college communities all across the nation as it did back in March.  There are many concerns surrounding schooling and its delivery during the pandemic.

“I feel like maybe if Joe Biden wins, he will implement a new plan to tackle Covid-19 in America,” said Helfrich. “And that plan might mean switching to completely online school for a while, which could obviously impact the OC community quite a bit.”

It is concerns such as these that result in a large backing of Biden and his campaign, but many others are hoping to see the re-election of President Trump to give him the opportunity to better our economy as he has during his first term.

“Trump’s businessman background proved to be very beneficial to our economy throughout his first term, and if he’s re-elected, I imagine he will continue to build our economy up even stronger than he already has,” said Sydnee Dennis, senior.

Republican party supporters around campus have been very impressed with President Trump in other areas such as tax reform, unemployment, and other bills passed by him while in his first term.

“He signed the most historic conservation fund in the history of our country, lowered taxes, and unemployment has been at an all-time low pre Covid-19,” said Brian Paquette, junior.

While it is impossible to discuss the topic of ‘who will win the general election’ with every student on campus, it seems that campus is relatively split for the upcoming election. Rather we see a new direction being taken by former Vice President Biden or the continued success of President Trump, next week will defiantly be important to all at Olivet.