Clinton Clear Winner in Student Poll

By Dakota Hallaway

Hillary Clinton is students’ choice as election nears according to informal poll conducted at College of Southern Nevada’s North Las Vegas campus.

A poll was conducted on Oct. 17 and 19 asking 100 students three questions: are they registered to vote, are they going to vote and who are they voting for.

Of the 79 students voting, 76 percent of them are voting for Clinton, 14 percent are voting for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 10 percent at not planning on voting for president at all by selecting a “no vote” in that category. No students polled are voting for Donald Trump.

Clinton was the clear winner of this poll.

Sharon Guadarrama, student at CSN, was excited to see Clinton favored among most students. “I believe students who are voting for Hillary agree with her plan to invest in education and no student should be denied the ability to continue in their studies.”

CSN student Caitlin Connor is not surprised most students are supporting Clinton. She thinks most millennials are in favor of Clinton because of her laid-out plan for the education system. “College students usually tend to be more liberal or democratic,” Connor said.

According to Pew Research Center’s study dated Sept. 15, 2016 titled “Educational Divide in Vote Preferences on Track to be Wider than in Recent Elections” college graduates are becoming more democratic while less educated voters are becoming more conservative. In addition a growing share of college grads are consistently liberal in political values as compared to their counterparts.

These findings may suggest that students in college lean more liberal, as found in the student poll.

Cultural anthropology Adjunct Instructor Hazel Jackson contends that the youth vote is extremely important. “I truly believe that our students are some of the brightest individuals within our state. With that said, these students are informed and have done enough research on Secretary Clinton to know that she will bring positive changes to the United States during her presidency.”

While many students have taken this political season quite seriously, some feel disenfranchised. In the poll 10 percent of students are not voting for Trump, Clinton or one of the third-party candidates. Some think none of the candidates are adequate to be president of the United States.

Jackson said, “Unfortunately this election has been constant mudslinging and in turn has created a disheartened and fearful society. It is only natural to choose not to vote; however, I have a lot of faith in our students here at CSN and I believe that they will rise to the occasion and vote for who they believe will lead out nation into the future.”