By Brendan Duneghy
With less than a week remaining, everywhere you look on the news in America revolves around pretty much one thing: the 2024 presidential election. As eyes draw near toward Nov. 5, Americans and the rest of the world anticipate the momentous day. Undoubtedly with billions affected by the outcome, there’s sure reason to believe Grand Rapids Community College students have something to say about it.
Of all the students The Collegiate interviewed regarding this upcoming election, the vast majority find importance in it and will be voting.
Dariele Perez, Lindsey Sasson and Abigail Pondell, all 18-year-olds hailing from Grand Rapids, believe that their single vote is what makes this election important. Perez says, “I believe my vote has a big impact just like everyone else’s.” With Sasson claiming, “it’s important to have a say in who’s gonna be in charge of our country.” Pondell added, “It is important to share what you think.”
Lee Muller, a 19-year-old business administration major from Midland, views voting as, “… important to have representation for the population.” She later added, “it’s just important to protect the central liberties.” Muller noted that although he finds this election to be important he says it’s no more important than the previous elections. He ended with some thoughtful advice, “I just think people should be wary of who they choose to support, and what news they choose to follow.”
Ahead of the curve are people like 19-year-old Spencer Spitler from Grand Rapids, who have already voted in this year’s election. With Spitler’s understanding that, “a single vote does make a difference,” maintaining the common theme that every vote counts.
As humans, it’s unavoidable to be influenced—whether by family, friends, or even strangers. With the looming election underway, it’s no different. In Spitler’s case he denotes his family as his main influence to vote, and who to vote for.
Pondell explains that her main reason for voting is because, “I have a lot of people telling me it’s important.”
In some instances voters tend to cater to what the candidate actually says when rallying. Eighteen-year-old Abduloahi Said from Grand Rapids tends to do this responsibly. When asked what he was influenced by he said, “mainly just their campaign and speeches.” From these premises he notes that “we have a suitable candidate for presidency.”
While undecided on who to vote for, Brian Rodas, an 18-year-old Grand Rapids native, claims a similar viewpoint to Said. Rodas explained, “I am still looking into what policies they plan to bring in and I’m seeing which one fits into what I believe in.” Later noting that his final decision could be influenced by what policies match his morales.
Sometimes strangers have an influence on us, and 18-year-old Miguel Jeronimo, originally from Oakland, California, has quite the reason why. “I’m not sure if it’s true or a rumor, but they said that they were going to release the… there was like a list with the Diddy incident, so I want to see what names are on that list if Donald Trump wins,” he said.
Jeronimo also commented on the election by stating, “I just find it really weird how things like (Amazon) Alexa are giving information about why you should vote for Kamala Harris but not Donald Trump.”
Another common topic that GRCC students are mentioning about this election are social issues. When asked what issues were important, 20-year-old Daphne Najera from Grand Rapids mentioned trans rights and women’s rights.
“… And in my case, since I am Hispanic, just getting my parents deported, I wouldn’t want that,” Najera said.
Keyandra Totten, 28, of Muskegon, said she is concerned that women will be adversely affected as a result of this election. “There are a lot of changes considering women’s health,” she said.
Totten and many other Americans, believe that a large part of this election centers around women’s reproductive rights.
Perez, and Totten hold similar viewpoints regarding the economy, with Perez anticipating that the result of the election will have a big impact on many social problems within the economy. Additionally, Totten mentioned her concern with the middle class and how they will be affected by taxes.
Another hot topic among students is the border between the United States and Mexico. When asked what is important to her, Sasson, the anthropology major, replied, “… country safety, like a secure country.”
Of all the students interviewed for this story, Autumn Klinge, a 19-year-old from Grand Rapids, was the only student who doesn’t plan to vote, “just because it’s my first year, and I’m not really too necessarily worried about it. … It’s not one of my top priorities,” she said.
Of the voter outcome in 2020, according to a report released in 2021 by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, the voter outcome amongst college students was at 66% across 1,051 campuses and approximately 9 million students in America.
Although not the same measurement, but rather a very miniscule number compared to the IDHE report. If all the students who said they intend to vote actually do, including Spitler, who already voted, this would put GRCC students at a roughly 92% voter outcome for the 2024 presidential election.
Collegiate reporters Emily Perez, Rebeca Lopez, Nic Longstreet, Bianca Bower and Rosalia Jimenez contributed to this story.
