Meet Hillary Clinton’s student supporters

While a large majority of young Democrats have been attracted to Bernie, there are plenty of young people who are “ready for Hillary”.

She just may be the Democratic nominee if things keep going as they are, but that is not without disappointment and even outrage from others. But what has kept people standing with Hillary over these very intense last few months, and will continue to into November? We interviewed six Hillary supporters on their thoughts:

Shayna Gutcho, 19, Sociology major

What are your top three reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton?

I believe in the women’s right to choose, I agree with her foreign/economic policy decisions, and I think she’s the most qualified out of the candidates left.

What is your response to criticisms like ‘she’s too tied to big-business and is a chameleon’?

What politician isn’t? If you look at the remaining candidates, they both have flip-flopped. One thing Hillary Clinton has been criticized for is for flip-flopping on gay marriage, but I could also name multiple things Sanders and Trump have flip-flopped on too. Sanders too, has flip-flopped on gay marriage. And big businesses endorse candidates all the time, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that necessarily as long you’re about the wise about the businesses you have in your pool. For instance, she is criticized for her ties with oil companies, but if you look at the oil companies supporting her actually, they’re actually investing in green energy. Also, super-PACs are a thing, in order to get far you need to make deals and I think that’s OK.

What is one thing you wish you could change about her platform?

I like that she is more of a moderate Democrat, I don’t think there’s anything I would change!

Arielle Goldberg, 18, Communications major

What are your top three reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton?

I think she’s politically powerful and savvy and knows how to get [stuff] done. Especially since Democratic presidents end up with a Republican congress, I feel like she’s smart and knows when to be aggressive. [Secondly], she’s the most qualified to deal with foreign policy, [and lastly] since so far she’s winning against Bernie (who I also really like and respect) I feel like I might as well just focus on the winning candidate to beat Trump.

What is your response to criticisms like ‘she’s too tied to big-business and is a chameleon’?

Her ties with big businesses don’t bother me to be honest. Like it or hate it, the world is run by corporations and if anything I’m glad she’s got powerful people on her side, [which] I think that says something about how powerful she herself is. She’s a politician and it’s impossible not to have any shadiness tied to that. About being a chameleon, again, she’s a politician. She listens to her constituents as well as people who are against her and evolves based on them. Also, she has been pretty consistent about gun control and healthcare, which are issues I care about.

What is one thing you wish you could change about her platform?

One thing I wish I could change about her platform is the way she campaigns to millennials. People are right to make fun of her trying to be hip because it is ridiculous and unauthentic. She is a sketchy, slightly problematic person, and I wish she would stop trying so hard to deny that and stop acting like she’s the most woke person ever. And instead, capitalize on her strengths.

Ali Golkar, 19, Information Technology

What are your top three reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton?

My number one reason for supporting [her] is because she helped negotiate the toughest sanctions Iran has ever faced, which made them negotiate a nuclear deal with the United States. As an Iranian-American, I think it is time to fix Iran-US relations after more than three decades. [Secondly], because of her $350 billion plan to kill college debt. She recognizes that many universities have become more of a business than an educational institution and plans to solve that. Under her plan, the government will not profit from student loans and will increase its investment in higher education. My third reason for supporting her is because of her gun violence prevention plan. She is calling for comprehensive federal background check legislation. She also wants to repeal the gun industry’s immunity protection and make them responsible for violence caused by their deadly weapons.

What is your response to criticisms like ‘she’s too tied to big-business and is a chameleon’?

Most of [those] claims have no substantial evidence. She gave several speeches nine years ago warning about the dangers of subprime loans, and introduced proposals for stronger oversight. Hillary has also supported increasing the minimum wage, although not to $15/hr. In addition, she supports higher taxes on the wealthy. If there is strong evidence for her favoring big business, I have yet to find it. To those that say she has flipping views, I say she has always stood by strong liberal policies.

What is one thing you wish you could change about her platform?

One thing I would change about her platform is her climate change polices; they are [not] strong enough. She says she would like to generate enough renewable energy to power every home in the United States, but provides little details on how she will accomplish this task. Her plan is also missing details on how she will [crack down on] industries [that have] too much power to do as they please without big enough repercussions.

Samantha Lane, 19, Education major

What are your top three reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton?

I have always been more interested in [social issues], so a candidate’s stance on these areas is very important to me. Being a liberal, Hillary and I see eye to eye on a lot of issues like women’s issues, racial inequality, and justice for LGBTQ+ Americans. [Secondly], since I’m going to be a teacher, I am very passionate about issues in education and how they will affect students. Teaching is a severely under-appreciated profession in our country, and is a job that people think anyone can do. I believe that Hillary sees how much hard work goes in to teaching, and how important it is to help the diverse and ever-growing student populations we are going to teach. [Also], some people see this is a weakness, but I think that Hillary’s long career in politics is an advantage. She has a lot of experience and has been a leader in America for over 25 years. No, she doesn’t have a perfect track record by any means, but I view her as a strong and capable person who can lead our country in a good direction.

What is your response to criticisms like ‘she’s too tied to big-business and is a chameleon’?

I think [her ties to big business are] a valid concern obviously, and I think that’s a big reason why many people have given their support to Bernie rather than her. But I didn’t really consider that aspect when I was choosing who to vote, so I guess I don’t really have an opinion on that. [As for being a chameleon], I [also] think this is a valid concern for people to have, considering politicians have a track record of catering their views to their voters. But to be honest I would be surprised if her views hadn’t changed [over 25 years]. A common [criticism] people throw at her is [her past stance on] same-sex marriage. But you have to look at the context of the time and realize that many people, including our current president, were not always advocates of same-sex marriage either. I would hate to be held to the view points that I had even five years ago, let alone 15, because people change and learn more about issues and evolve. I completely understand the criticism, but [still] I would rather her change her views because she’s learning more about these issues and knows that people care about them than her adamantly remaining stagnant on an issue for the sake of being completely consistent.

What is one thing you wish you could change about her platform?

Up until this point I’ve been voting based around issues I’m very familiar with, but there are still parts of Hillary (and Bernie’s) platform that I haven’t really fully developed my thoughts on yet. So I plan on spending my summer reading up on problem areas I don’t know as much about and becoming a more educated voter.

Asriel Walker, 19, Biochemistry

What are your top three reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton?

Hillary has proven that she’s a driven person who gets things done. She’s a doer. She makes an impact wherever she goes. For example, after law school she worked for children’s causes like public education. When she became first lady, she helped create children’s health insurance and she was the first to really work on universal health care. As senator for NY, she helped to get money appropriated for 9/11 victims. She’s [also] moderate and thoughtful. This all means that she has the even temperament essential for being a leader of a country. I trust that she will make rational decisions after thinking through all the angles of an issue. And she’s proved she can work across the aisle. She will be able to work with a Republican congress and get things done. There’s no doubt that the potential for substantial, visible, and tangible progress with Hillary in the White House is much higher than that potential with any of the other candidates.

What is your response to criticisms ‘she’s too tied to big-business and is a chameleon’?

In response to people saying that she is “a chameleon”: the fact is that Hillary Clinton is a very good politician. She communicates well and connects to a wide variety of different constituencies [besides] the concerns of the white, male majority. This is the goal of every politician running for any position. This criticism is an attempt to call her a liar; it’s a shallow and hypocritical distraction. Her consistency in her political and moral values is completely evident in her actions. In response to people saying she is “too tied to big business”, I say that the fact that she has ties to large corporations is a good thing. This means that she has a very well-rounded view of where the issues with large corporations and the country’s financial status lay, [and] will be more able to determine how to fix them without escalating the situation.

What is one thing you wish you could change about her platform?

There isn’t anything specific that I can think of that I want to change about her political platform. However, the one thing that I wish I could change about Hillary’s campaign is that she could present herself more personably. Unfortunately, there are people in the country that care more about the superficial aspects of a candidate such as their appearance, how much they smile, their gender, and what they wear; rather than the things that actually matter about a candidate such as their intelligence and values. The fact that she is a woman seems to be distracting to those people and it is targeted by her opponents.

Kevin Buckley, 20, International Affairs Major/Sociology minor

What are your top three reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton?

My top three reasons: proven track record of passing liberal bills and progressing liberal ideas but also compromising which is what we need; she has the most experience of anyone running; I can identify with her – I know she wants to help me even though she doesn’t know me.

What is your response to criticisms like ‘she’s too tied to big-business and is a chameleon’?

On the Wall Street criticism, there’s no evidence backing that up. Yes, she was paid to speak to Wall Street firms and executives, but she also was the senator from New York and the First Lady, so there are reasons people want to hear from her (also some of Obama’s biggest donors in 2012 were from Wall Street but he didn’t get any backlash, why Hillary?). On chameleon, that’s the attack that gets me most angry, because people act as if they don’t change opinions over time themselves. On most issues she has a record of staying consistent. On social issues like gay marriage she did evolve just as Obama did in 2010. Politicians who don’t change their opinions over time, as new information comes and norms evolve, are the ones we shouldn’t trust, because it means they don’t want to learn and they don’t represent the people.

What is one thing you wish you could change about her platform?

I wish she would change her stance on Israel. Like most other US politicians she has said she is firmly behind Israel, but I think that the US needs to reevaluate our relationship and involvement with Israel and work towards peace and stability in the region, which Israel doesn’t actively promote.