By Brendan Scanland
MARQUETTE, Mich. — Younger voters in this year’s election are going to play a critical role in determining the next President of the United States.
The youth vote is a key demographic both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are fighting to win over.
At Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich., over 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students make up the campus population. Each student comes from a diverse background with their own set of views and important issues top of mind in this year’s election.
“Women’s rights, reproductive rights, democracy. We have to safeguard our democracy,” said Alec LaPlante, President of NMU College Democrats.
LaPlante and other Democratic students on campus say they’re energized by their candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“She’s a phenomenal candidate. She kind of encompasses everybody and really connects with the students and the young people. I truly believe that,” said LaPlante.
Some students, however, say neither major party candidate checks the box for them.
“I am not happy about how the current administration has been handling the situation in Palestine,” said Jacob Chrisman. “And I don’t see either side really helping that situation.”
“I think finding middle ground to better help everybody is what’s mostly important,” said Henry Moore, a Libertarian who expressed similar frustration with both major parties.
“I think that a lot of people don’t understand how much they contradict themselves as far as political parties go,” said Moore.
On the issues, many students ranked the economy as one of their top concerns.
“For me like, having money is important. And I think that’s important for everybody,” said Moore.
“Things are kind of expensive,” said Chrisman. “I feel like there’re some people who are making a bigger deal out of it than there actually is, but it is true that there’s an issue and it’s difficult to afford groceries sometimes,” said Chrisman.
“I’m just not liking the way things are going,” said Nolan Thurston, a Republican voter who believes the U.S. is on the wrong track. “Potential world war and the economy,” he added, listing concerns he has with the current political climate, both at home and abroad.
Thurston plans to cast his first vote in a Presidential Election for former President Donald Trump.
“Better foreign policy. I think that he could communicate better with other leaders,” said Thurston.
Political views on the campus of Northern Michigan University certainly vary. But students here agree it’s critically important to make their voices heard.
“So many times I hear people say that your vote doesn’t matter. But I feel like it can really come down to a few votes in some counties sometimes,” said Thurston. “If you want things to go the way that you want them to go, you should vote.”
“I think that everybody has an opinion and they want to express it. So we want to do it in the right way, voting,” said LaPlante, whose campus organization also assists with getting students, often first-time voters, acquainted with the process.
“How to get informed, what’s being said, how to vote, where to vote, all the different things,” said LaPlante. “We enjoy partisan things, but we also contribute to things like encouraging getting out the vote for students, regardless of their political views,” said LaPlante.