All election week articles are published anonymously to protect our student journalists
What are Saegertown students saying about the upcoming election? In such tense and divisive times as our nation faces this cycle, certain issues feel taboo to discuss in person for fear of disagreement, not a phenomenon that is uncommon for young journalists.
A handful of courageous students took this risk and shared their opinions with us, some ready and willing to be quoted directly in this article. While we at the Press appreciate their openness, all quotations are anonymous.
The results of the poll (which was open to all students) were not an exhaustive nor an accurate representation of the views of the entire student body at Saegertown.
Saegertown is a small, rural community that isn’t an uber-wealthy area. Our attendance area is Republican-leaning, as one might expect from such an area.
The borough itself voted 70% Republican in the 2016 presidential election and 73% four years later. The two townships adjacent to the borough, Hayfield and Woodcock, both voted over 70% for Donald Trump in the last two elections. All of Crawford County voted 66% Republican in 2016 and 68% Republican in 2020. The results of the student poll suggest similar numbers, with about 75% favoring Trump.
This begs the question: what issues are most important to high schoolers? The most important issue to teenage voters appears to be women’s rights (including but not limited to abortion, IVF). 56% of students who answered this poll said that this issue was one of the three most important to them.
Every student who voted for Harris in this poll listed this as one of their biggest concerns. Even some Trump fans support her policies on abortion more. About 55% of students who listed this issue as one of their biggest said they were in favor of Harris’s abortion policies over Trump’s.
“I feel that reproductive rights are very important and should be protected at all costs,” said one senior. “Kamala plans on protecting reproductive rights, including abortion, IVF, and free birth control. Healthcare as a whole is very important to me, and I feel that reproductive healthcare is something that should be universal.”
“This issue is not a debate about giving women rights or withholding their rights. It is a difference in a simple definition; human. When does life begin? I believe it is at conception,” said one junior. “The Supreme Court has also ruled that this is a reserve power, or a responsibility of state governments to decide. This makes it difficult for a president to legally do anything to make abortions more accessible.”
“As a woman, I don’t feel threatened by restricting abortion,” commented one junior. “…intercourse is an adult decision, and if you can’t be mature and smart concerning it, don’t do it.”
The other top three issues that Saegertown students feel are important are the economy, the border and gun control.
Only about 25% of Harris supporters who responded to this poll felt that the border and immigration are one of the most important issues this election, while around 60% of those whose responses favored Trump felt that this issue was one of the most important.
“He’s already been fighting for it forever,” one student said in relation to Trump’s border policy.
The economy tied with the border for the title of second biggest issue for Saegertown students in this election.
“Donald Trump’s tax cuts mostly went to the richest Americans,” said one Harris-supporting junior.
Democrat candidates often seek to improve the economic state of the nation through welfare, while Republicans seek economic improvement via low taxes and reliance on domestic business.
“Again, she has plans in place, and over the past four years in the White House with Joe Biden has broken ties in the house on such topics which are helping middle and lower class families progress and make more money because they aren’t having to worry about saving because of the cost of welfare,” one Harris-supporting student mentioned.
“Harris wants to ease financial suffering in America by subsidizing things for the lower class. This is very charitable, but the best thing that can be done to improve the lives of Americans is having a strong economy. Giving tax breaks to billionaires is an example of trickle-down economics,” a Trump-supporting junior said. “Trump is giving corporate tax breaks to billionaire-owned companies, designed to grow American business. This lowers prices and unemployment. The rich don’t just get personally richer, business benefits, indirectly benefiting communities more than government subsidies can.”
Gun control is a huge concern for about half of our students. Of the students who found this issue an area of concern, most of them were Trump-supporting.
“Kamala is looking to ruin this country by taking our guns away,” said one student. “It’s a second amendment right as an American and guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
“As someone who has grown up in a rural area and has grown up hunting, I feel that we need stronger gun control. I fully support people owning hunting rifles or hand guns for production, however I feel that there is no reason for average citizens to own military grade weapons,” said one student. “Kamala has plans to make purchasing a gun more difficult including adding universal background checks before guns can be purchased. No child should have to worry about getting shot while going to school, we need to have stronger gun control to ensure these students feel safe at school.”
Foreign affairs and welfare programs are less important issues for most students. Some criticized America’s support of Israel and Ukraine, while others defended our involvement.
When asked which candidate was better suited to address issues of foreign policy, one student responded, “None. Both have endorsed and enabled Israel’s questionable at best actions in the Middle East.”
“We’re wasting money in Ukraine which doesn’t affect us and is pretty much Vietnam 2.0.,” claimed a junior.
“I stand with Israel. Many are critical of their actions, however, they were attacked by terrorists. I believe that they are morally justified in their countermeasures against said terrorist groups,” said another junior. “National self-defense shouldn’t be villainized. Ukraine is a waste of our money. If Trump were president, Russia probably would have been more hesitant to attack than with Biden and his weaker foreign policy.”
A few Harris-supporters voiced their opinions on welfare policies. They feel that she has a better plan to protect the welfare necessary for the nation.
“…she has taken action in the past to have an effect on the American people to help them,” said one senior. “For example, capping the cost of insulin for senior citizens as opposed to other potential candidates and what their focus would be as president.”
The nation we live in today is hyperpolarized, where the two largest political parties are in such stark contrast with one another that political figures often struggle to even consider working across party lines. One thing that we as a community should take pride in is the fact that students felt safe enough to voice their opinions and were courteous enough to voice them respectfully.
All articles were written in the week prior to the election; some of the information may not be fully up to date.
