With the upcoming election, tensions are high in the U.S. Yet one thing seems for certain, the American people will have to choose between Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. The people’s fears and concerns have been displayed all over the media, but what about right here in MCHS? What are people thinking about this election? Celebrities have been endorsing/shaming candidates, but what about locals? I had the opportunity to interview Mr. John Lee, MCHS’ own teacher. Mr. Lee teaches Advanced Government, Advanced History, and Regular Government. Lee has also been on Mason City Council and has just started his 6th year. When I asked Mr.Lee what sets this election apart from any other election? His response was “It’s obviously the quality of the candidates… that the people selected. I think they represent a frustration of the people. Trump definitely does that and that’s why Bernie had so much success. He represented anger with the status quo, and it took some willy-nilly-ing on Hillarys behalf to stick it out.” Mr. Lee also added added that “they (Trump and Clinton) are the least popular candidates since that statistic has been measured.”
Although many high school students are unable to vote November 8th, the Mohawk Press still wanted to know how students and staff felt about the election. The Press conducted an online survey asking about which candidates people supported, what issues they thought were most important, and their final thoughts about this year’s election. Over 340 responses individuals completed the survey, 278 students and 64 staff members. When asked who they support this election year, 36% said Hillary Clinton while in a almost dead lock with Donald Trump with 35.4%. 8% of respondents chose either Jill Stein or Gary Johnson. 18% choose another candidate that was listed or none at all. According to both students and staff, the three most important issues in this election were education, the economy, and health care. For the last question, students and staff were given the opportunity to share how they felt about this year’s election. Key words from staff indicated they were disappointed and wanted more. One staff member went on to say “It is sad to watch – it would be great to see more information and discussion over key issues rather than bickering. I would be interested in seeing what they actually care about and their ideas to solve the issues.” Among students, the keywords used were bad, sad, and worried. A student stated “That by choosing between our two main contenders, we will be picking the lesser of two evils.” If the results of our survey are any indication of what is to come in the next 11 days, this election will be an interesting one.
Election Day is November 8th. For more information on how to vote, please visit https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/electionday.html.