Leah DeHaemer/The Hofstra Chronicle

“I am a junior studying public relations at Hofstra. Nobody wanted this election. I don’t think this is anyone’s ideal ticket for either side, really … I have voted, I just got my absentee ballot on Saturday [Oct. 24] … I haven’t really been engaged [in this election in other ways]. I’ve been sharing things, [and] I was very outspoken [about Massachusetts state elections]. Other than that, I’ve just been very vocal about ranked-choice voting, which is question two [on the ballot] in Massachusetts … I feel as if ranked-choice voting – while a little more complex than the electoral college that we have as a winner-takes-all system – is much more fair, not only to those who vote, but also to third party candidates, independent candidates, any candidate really outside of the two-party system that will benefit from ranked-choice voting. I don’t really know [how this election has affected me as a college student], because as a college student I kind of assume that everyone has a similar mentality … I do acknowledge that there are some younger people who do have conservative mindsets, but considering we are located in New York, I figure that it’s a mostly liberal political landscape here, so … I don’t really feel the impact of this election on this campus, other than on everyone’s mental health. I believe that voting is, well, voting is a constitutional right given to every citizen, and I believe that it should be exercised at every opportunity. There is a systematic suppression of voters specifically in areas with minority voters. There is a lot of voter suppression, which makes it feel almost hopeless to vote in some regions in America. I was very concerned my absentee ballot would not arrive on time. But in reality, if I didn’t get it on time, I would not have headed home to vote, because I do live in Massachusetts, and Massachusetts is a very blue state. So no matter who I voted for, I would’ve felt like my vote just would not have counted as much. [This presidential election] is so exhausting. I’m tired. America’s tired. No matter who gets elected, I think America is still going to be tired. We’re going to be tired for another four years.”