In light of the presidential primaries and the ongoing debates, it becomes apparent to many students here on campus that politics are reworking their way back into our conversations here at DU. Therefore, there is no better time than now to take a temperature check on how the student body is feeling on certain campaigns, poll trends and political issues that have taken charge in political discourse recently.
For starters, one of the integral parts of this election cycle is potential candidates. While we won’t know with 100 percent certainty who will make the 2020 election ballot quite yet, the progression of primaries thus far is a good starting point for many students to potentially pick their candidates.
When asked about what candidate best suits their views, Jessica Garcia, a political science major and first-year student at DU, said that Bernie Sanders best fits her idea of what a politician should advocate for.
“I support Bernie Sanders because he believes in healthcare for everyone, which I think is necessary in such a large, developed country like the United States,” says Jessica Garcia. “Another thing that Sanders is running on is raising teacher pay. I agree with him on this because teachers are some of the hardest working people in the nation and go through a lot with their students.”
This, in addition to decriminalizing marijuana and advocating for women’s reproductive rights, make Bernie Sanders an appealing option for Garcia. Considering that Bernie just won the Nevada caucuses and is leading in the polls, this support for Sanders should come as no surprise.
On the other hand, Ashley Hawkins, a second-year English major here at DU, expressed her conservative views and her personal preference for the front-runner of the Republican party: Donald Trump.
“While I do not agree with many of the things he [Trump] says, many of his ideas, especially his economic policies, are actually very sound,” says Hawkins. “I genuinely don’t think that either Sanders or Bloomberg has the potential to make this much of a difference while still maintaining the important costs necessary for the country.”
Even though there are some preferential differences concerning the primaries so far, one common standpoint throughout has been the general opinion on Bloomberg’s surge in the polls and his qualification for the debate in Nevada. To say the least—it wasn’t all that positive, regardless if one identified as a Republican or a Democrat.
“It is jaw-dropping to me that Bloomberg is rising in polls. He has labeled minorities—Latinos and African-Americans as criminals and has certain views of women,” says Garcia. “Also, he is using a lot of his billionaire funds to buy advertisements… I feel like he should not be able to do this with his own money because it really makes me feel like he is trying to buy the election.”
Hawkins echoes Garcia’s sentiments, saying that she is “not a fan of Michael Bloomberg at all,” and that “his economic policies are inept and his campaign is a sham. Michael Bloomberg is basically everything I don’t like about Trump but emphasized.”
Although there is still a long road until the official election this fall, presidential primaries make now the most important time to ascertain what political issues, and what candidates are impacting our political climate at DU.
