Area students offer opinions on upcoming presidential race

Mar. 28—Six students at Missouri Southern State University had a lot of say about the 2024 presidential candidates and the issues.

Some have already made up their minds, others are undecided, and one said he is disenchanted with both leading candidates and will probably not vote.

Darin Gordon, a freshman biochemistry major at Missouri Southern State University, said: "Our presidential candidates are not up to snuff."

"The only two choices are Joe Biden or Donald Trump, and neither of them are fit to be in office," said Gordon, who is from Webb City. "Donald Trump has gone through a lot of controversy, and Biden's policies have been awful. The only thing I think he did well was get COVID on track."

Amy Leigh, a junior from Carthage; Matthew McCaulley, a senior from Waynesville; Jamarion Eldridge, a senior from Independence; Othellis Roper, a junior from Joplin; and Elijah Daniels, a freshman from Stockton, all weighed in.

Eldridge and Daniels are undecided; Roper also said he is not locked in on a candidate.

Leigh, a radiology major, said she is firmly in Trump's camp.

McCaulley, a criminal justice major, said he's leaning toward a third party. "I'm looking at a candidate named Chase Oliver. He's a libertarian from Iowa. I like his policies, but I'm definitely going to read into it more before Election Day."

Issues of concern

The students said they were interested in a variety of issues, but there were common threads, including the economy and foreign policy.

"I think the economy is a big concern going on right now," Leigh said. "I know prices are really high, everything is really expensive now, especially gas prices, grocery prices, houses."

McCaulley said he wants a candidate who is not overly polarizing and divisive.

"Right now, my big concern is foreign policy," McCaulley added. "I think we're dishing out way too much money to foreign countries when we have a lot of issues in America we need to deal with first."

Eldridge, a physical education major, said his big concern is taxes because as an MSSU senior he said he'll start paying more in taxes once he gets out in the working world.

Roper, 25, said he's concerned about foreign policy, the economy and what he calls a "broken" criminal justice system.

Gordon said he's also concerned about the criminal justice system and civil rights.

"I'm tired of seeing police violence on the news," Gordon said. "I'm tired of seeing people rioting on the other side of the spectrum."

And Daniels, who is majoring in criminal justice, said he's concerned about people being closed-minded and about women's reproductive rights.

"So giving women the choice would I think help the issue, but also putting restrictions on said choice," Daniels said. "To just get rid of the child because you don't want it, I don't think that's OK. But if it's say a rape victim is going to have a child or the woman is going to die, that should be the choice of either the woman or the father to make."

Concern about ageConcern about the candidates' ages also was a topic of discussion with these voters. Trump will turn 78 in June, and Biden will be 82 in November.

Leigh said she sees age as a concern in Biden's case, more than in Trump's case.

McCaulley said age shouldn't be a major factor, but the things that come with age are concerning.

"It's problematic because politics are mainly ruled by older folks because those are the ones who are voting," McCaulley said. "Young people like us tend not to vote, so people who are later in life, retirees, they are much more civically vocal."

Eldridge said he's concerned that neither candidate is in touch with grassroots Americans because of their age.

Roper said he's concerned about the candidates dying in office and whether they "have their fingers right on the pulse of the nation."

"I am very concerned about the age of our candidates and its impact on their mental capabilities," Roper said.

Gordon said both candidates are at the age where "you start seeing mental faculties declining."

Daniels said he believes that 35, the minimum age to become president in the Constitution, is an ideal age for a presidential candidate. He also said the country needs someone with "a business mind and social mind."