The fate of the U.S. is important to the future of younger generations, and although not all of them can vote yet, their opinions are valued. To find out what their stances were on this year’s Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Elect Donald Trump, the Emerald conducted a poll of the SHC student body.
A week before the election, 189 students participated in a poll through a Schoology post and in their senior history classes. Of the sample, 75% were seniors, with 9.5% being registered voters. They responded to questions on the two major presidential candidates and shared their honest thoughts about whether they thought either was fit to lead the country. 82% of the respondents said they grew up in Democratic households, while 9.5% came from Republican households, and 8.5% from other party affiliations.
When asked to evaluate the candidates’ capabilities, 61% said they had confidence in Harris’ abilities to lead the country, while only 14% had confidence in Trump. 32% of the 99 students who responded to the optional question on Harris supported her. Simone Cohen ‘27, expressed, “I am very confident in Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate. Her values and morals align with a lot that I believe in. She stands up for all Americans and is dedicated to creating a safe, equal, and inviting country for us to live in.” Though many thought she would be a good president, 7% said they did not know much about her but liked what she stood for and planned to do. Another 30% of people said they did not agree with everything she stood for, but thought she was the best candidate. Piper Ling-Winick ‘27 expressed, “I believe that Kamala Harris is overall a very good candidate. Yes, she has flaws, but so does every other presidential candidate. I do believe Kamala Harris has room to grow as a candidate, and this growth can come during her presidency. Overall, clearly the best choice of the two.” By contrast, 17% thought Harris would not change things for the better, and 10% said that they were not sure and/or indifferent about her.
Students were also asked to provide their honest thoughts on Trump. 100 people responded and of them, 69% thought he was not a good candidate and would not be an effective leader. Responses include Dana Sunga ‘28, who responded, “I think he is not competent enough to be a president as in the debate, he has previously lied when answering questions, is planning on limiting rights of minority groups in his political initiative, Project 2025, and openly endorses racist and prejudiced people.” Conversely, 10% of students thought he was a good candidate. When asked their honest opinion on him, 13/90 had more positive things to say, but currently, they prefer not to be quoted. Such individuals cited his effective policies as reasons to support him. 8% said that although he had good and bad traits, he was better than Harris. Another 3% said they did not know a lot about him, and 8% said they were not sure and/or indifferent about him.
Though some SHC students had mixed feelings and were unsure about the candidates, most would have preferred Kamala Harris as president rather than Donald Trump. But with the election over and the results final, SHC students and the country will have to adjust to the new changes made and a former leader resuming his position.
