America’s next president needs to fix many issues during the next four years. There are certain issues that specifically affect college students right now.
A big issue is that college graduates have been struggling to find jobs in their field. According to the Associated Press, 50 percent of college students are either unemployed or working low wage jobs that don’t utilize their skills and knowledge.
Having low wage jobs is especially rough for college kids who must pay back student loans.
The availability of financial aid is obviously an important topic for many collegiate students.
“It’s my understanding that Governor Mitt Romney, if elected, is proposing to take away financial aid and things that help to subsidize us going to school. I need my financial aid, so I definitely will not be voting for him, said Jo’ Hilliard, a freshman pre-pharmacy major.
“I am voting for President Obama because I feel like he has a better plan for students who are in school and who are trying to get a higher education- making it affordable for us.”
Another issue concerning college students is health care. The cost of health care has doubled since 2002, unfortunately coinciding with an economy in terrible shape. College students, like the rest of America, want the next president to solve the issue of health care.
“Who I’m voting for is Mitt Romney and the reason why is because of his health care reform and I just feel that Obama hasn’t really stepped in the right directions and maybe we need to go a different direction,” said Paige McCoy, a freshman pre-pharmacy major.
Many people believe that Obama hasn’t taken the country in the direction he promised in 2008.
They feel he hasn’t done enough to improve the economy in his four years. However, many people feel that Obama will succeed with more time.
“I’m voting for Obama because I think that if the Republican party could do anything to improve our country, they would have done it during the eight years of the Bush administration. The Democrats deserve at least 8 years to try and fix the 8 years of damage the Republican party caused. Our economy really needs improvement because the Bush administration wrecked our economy,” said Katelyn Griffith, a senior criminal justice major.
Recent numbers don’t dispute the common belief that college students don’t care about politics.
A July Gallup poll revealed that among registered voters age 18-29, only 58 percent plan to vote, 20 percentage points lower than the national average of 78 percent.
While some students learn one way or another, others doubt both sides.
“Is one of them actually going to follow through with what they say? I mean that’s how they are with every election though. They promise a lot of things and never do it,” said Emily Patrick, a senior psychology major.