4November 2016Features

“Donald Trump, while he does say things and lose his temper sometimes, he has some good ideas and is a change from the usual politician.”

-Courtney Flint, senior

“Trump all the way!! I want Trump to win because there is no way Hillary is running this country. Plus my dad said if Trump wins, he’ll buy me Panda Express sooo...”

-Alexa Jones, freshman

“Hillary Clinton be-cause Trump is all about himself. He has too much money, and he doesn’t pay taxes. Trump is going to start WWIII, and I don’t want to be drafted to the war.”

-Tyler Wurtz, sophomore

“I believe Donald Trump should win because the democratic candidate is Hillary Rodham Clinton; HRC=Hypocritical, Ridiculous, Crooked.”

-Nathan Schumacher, sophomore

“Trump because he is not a politician. He is a businessman who wants to make America great again. We are $20 trillion in debt. We need a new system.”

-Logan Mueller, junior

“Hillary Clinton. Why? Trump is a psychotic, cry-baby, brat. He is focused on races and insults. I truly believe Hillary will better our country.”

-Adelynn Newman, junior

Who do you think should win the 2016 presidential election?

2016 Presidential Election Predictions

M a k i n g t h e f i r s t t i m e c o u n tNovember 8th, 2016.

This was a much-anticipated day for Americans; a day that would determine the Presi-dent of the United States for the next four years, and I was able to participate in all of the election fun this year.

In the months leading up to the election, I was excited because this was the first election that I would be able to get in on all of the mad-ness. However, I was a little bummed about the candidates that I had to work with. I tried to become educated on both of the candidates by

watching the news and read-ing articles online. I thought that watching the debates was the most beneficial, and sometimes humorous, way to become informed on the policies of each candidate. In addition, my Modern Government class discussed the candidates almost daily. Mr. Brockhaus played parts of each debate in class and explained some of the poli-cies that the candidates were standing behind. He also helped us decipher between what was fact and what was a piece of bologna.

As the election quickly approached, facts about each candidate bombarded me through television commer-cials and social media. I was

not a die-hard fan of either of the candidates, but I did definitely prefer one of the candidates over the other. After becoming informed on both the candidates and sitting through three months of Mr. Brockhaus’ class, I felt as if I was educated enough to make a decision on which candidate I would rather have as the president of my country.

On November 8th, 2016, I went with my parents to the polling location. Because I live out of town, my desig-nated polling location was St. John’s Lutheran Church.

As I walked into the building, I was greeted by several women. I walked up to the table and was asked to

say my name and address. I then had to sign next to my name on the paper (1). After this, one of the women gave me a ballot and explained that I needed to fill in the bubbles completely with a specific pencil and then place it in the ballot cover (2). She also showed me that my ballot was initialed at the bottom, which must be done for a bal-lot to be counted. She then directed me to a voting booth (3). When I was inside the booth, I scanned over my bal-lot before making any marks (4). I only voted on Pres-ident, U.S. Representative for my district, and the death penalty because I did not recognize any of the names for judges, public school

board, and other categories listed on my ballot. I wish that I would have paid more attention to who would be on my ballot before I voted so that I could have been more prepared to vote on these categories. My ballot did not include options for mayor of Columbus because I live outside of city limits.

After I finished filling out my ballot, I placed it inside of my ballot cover and handed it to the woman help-ing me. I watched her put the opening of the ballot cover up to the slot in the ballot box, and I saw my ballot slide into the ballot box (5). Then, a lady handed me a sticker (6), and I was free to go. I felt so accomplished!

The voting process was easy and painless. I expected it to take much longer than it actually did. There were few people at my polling location when I went, so I was able to get in and out in less than ten minutes. I would advise all teenagers who are 18 years old to vote because the pro-cess is easy and short. Also, it gives the voter a sense of accomplishment to know that his or her vote was counted in deciding who would be the next President of the United States. I will never forget be-ing able to get in on all of the madness that was the election of November 8th, 2016.

By Haley FaustStaff Reporter

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