Today is election day, but many young voters feel that they have not been given a clear view as to who would be the best president or whether either of them are even capable of handling this important position. 

Donald J. Trump, the current president of the United States, and Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., former Vice President under the Obama Administration, have gone head to head

during this election, one that is sure to go down in the history books. On September 29, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio, the two candidates were to debate on serious topics in 15-minute segments, allowing each other to speak for 2 minutes with no interruptions. These basic rules went completely down the drain as both candidates constantly talked over each other and even went as far as to call each other degrading names. Mediator Chris Wallace, a host of Fox News, was in the middle of the battlefield, constantly having to intervene when things got chaotic, which was most of the hour and a half of the debate. This debate was the epitome of this election, during a pandemic, that has left most Americans disheartened over their democratic rights. 

During the debate, both candidates ran over each other’s words and brought up unnecessary and morbid

topics, such as Biden’s deceased son. As a result, the second debate, which did not take place until October 22nd, had a new rule: the mediator was able to mute the mic of a candidate. Many people across the country, including seniors here at Becton, have their own opinions about who is winning or losing this election. In a survey sent to the senior class about the first debate, 46.5% of students believed President Trump won, which is the majority. The opinion that neither of them won was 27.9% and Biden came in third, with 23.3% of seniors believing he had won the first debate. The remaining students, a  small percentage of only 2.3 believed both candidates did pretty good. One student, who chose to keep their political beliefs anonymous, believed Trump took control of the debate, “I feel as though he was unfairly questioned by the moderator and was still able to hold up.” Another anonymous senior had a better impression of Biden, “Joe Biden showed more presidential behavior and a proper address of the significant issues facing Americans today.” Many students just hated the attitude both candidates had throughout the night. “Childish” and “immature” was the aura that emitted from the presidents-elect in the eyes of not only seniors in our school but also citizens across the US. While other countries found it amusing, many Americans saw it as utterly embarrassing.

According to our poll of the 35 seniors eligible to vote, the majority will be voting for the current president, Donald J. Trump, with 55.8% choosing him to remain in office. 32.6% will be voting for Joe Biden and 11.6% will be choosing an independent candidate. Alumni Christian Ochoa, a 2020 graduate from Becton, discussed who he voted for this year and why. Mr. Ochoa voted for Joe Biden, as he is skewed more toward the left. “Even though Biden has done [bad] things similar to Trump,” he explains, “he’s the least evil, and I believe he can do good things for this country.” Mr. Ochoa has never really had a good impression of President Trump, however, his dissent was further enhanced during the first debate. “He never even said anything to denounce white supremacy – and he just said something to the proud boys – ‘stand back and stand by.’” Regardless of his own beliefs, this Becton alumni stressed the importance of voting,  “Everyone has a voice. Your vote actually does matter.”