Kamala Harris Excites the Youth

As a child, I vividly remember going to the polls with my mother on election day. I would wait in line with her, peer over her shoulder in the voting booth, and leave with an “I Voted” sticker attached to my collar. She always enforced the idea that voting was powerful, and as I get ready to cast my first vote in a presidential election, that sentiment is fresh in my mind.

Before President Biden dropped out of the race, I was faced with a choice that left me feeling unconfident and frankly disappointed. Most notably, the age of the candidates concerned me. We were faced with two of the oldest candidates in history: both of whom have frequent vocal slip-ups when it comes to policy and personal conversations alike. Age, and more importantly the cognitive decline that can come with it, is an increasingly important factor in politics. My expectations were not high, but after watching the first debate in June, it solidified my belief that Biden was unfit to run for a second term. This sense of fear and disappointment was something many young voters felt. I was unexcited, uninspired, and scared of what the next four years may look like.Mia Vesely

When Vice President Kamala Harris stepped up to the plate and announced that she would be running, many of those feelings were rectified. Rather than feeling sad, I felt optimistic and excited for the breath of fresh air that a younger, more cognizant candidate would bring to the race.

Many of the reservations that I held towards Trump and Biden about age, consistency, and record, I don’t bear with Harris. Just last month, I attended her campaign rally in Arizona alongside my mother and my aunt. It was my first time at a political rally and I found the speakers compelling, but perhaps more impactful was observing the diverse crowd. People of all ages and many different backgrounds packed the stadium. The overall theme of unification and hope gave me comfort. The energy of that event was contagious, but more important than the appearances, are the politics.

Issues like reproductive freedom, the cost of living, climate change, and student loan debt are top of mind for many young voters like me. The environment is paramount for me as I look towards my future. The cost of living is important because I would love to be able to buy a house someday and afford rent while also being able to eat and grow savings. The rising cost of higher education is something that currently impacts me and many of my peers. We are forced to make choices between paying off student loans, managing bills, and buying groceries. These are frequent stresses that the average American college student faces. 

As a scholarship student at a highly selective, financially demanding institution, I face these impossible situations every day, and on top of the stress of classes and jobs, these issues are extremely salient in the minds of so many of my fellow classmates.