Here’s What Some Austin Students Think About the 2016 Presidential Election

Most of the time, these students believe what their parents believe, but some students are starting to form their own opinions.

By Kate McGeeSeptember 26, 2016 9:30 am, , ,

From KUT

For many middle and high school students, this year’s presidential election is their introduction to American politics and it’s an unusual election to start with. At Kealing Middle School, about a dozen students are taking an elective called Presidential Politics. They study the current presidential election — and local races, too.

KUT spoke to some students in the class: Anya, Ava, Flynn, Soren and Stella. (We’re referring to them by their first names because they’re 12 and no one needs their middle school opinions following them around on the internet forever). And these students have a lot of opinions about this year’s election, the candidates, the rhetoric and the issues they find important.

Here’s what we learned:

“My thoughts about the election are mixed. I liked Hilary Clinton a little but bit I didn’t like her because of the emails. Donald Trump, he wants to ban Muslims, and I don’t really think that’s fair.” – Anya

“I was following that Donald Trump was doing some crazy stuff that I was not very interested in at all. And I am definitely for Hillary Clinton. I am more of a Democrat than a Republican, I can say for sure.” – Stella

“[Hillary Clinton] would be the first woman president, which would be great. I do agree with her on a lot topics. She’s a moderate Democrat.” – Soren

“I mean they’re my parents, so I’m going to take more influence from them.” – Stella

“[My father] thinks [Donald Trump] might be a good person to vote for because he can get what he wants, but he feels Trump is very abrupt and doesn’t have a filter on his mouth. Hillary Clinton, what I like about her is she talks firmly and she makes her point clear, and she doesn’t necessarily not tell us what she’s doing to do, unlike Donald Trump, who hasn’t really told us how he’s going to solve problems.” – Anya

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