Juana Garcia/The Cougar
As early voting closes and Election Day is prolonged to election week, students do not know what is to come as the results come in for who will be the next president of the United States.
The close race of former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump creates different outcomes for the state of the country, as well as each UH student’s individual personal lives. Some students are nervous about who will win.
“If Trump wins, we will undoubtedly see civil unrest,” said political science sophomore Tamon Hamlett. “If Biden wins, I don’t expect anything to happen.”
Hamlett, the UH College Republicans recruitment officer, said growing up in Delaware made him familiar with Biden’s policies. One policy noted was the cause of mass incarceration of African Americans on behalf of Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, Hamlett said.
“If Biden wins, we will lose the progress made on delivering police reform as we saw under the Trump administration,” Hamlett said.
Students such as journalism senior Ivan Duran have an opposite stance on how the outcome of another Trump presidency or a Biden win will affect their lives and the state of the nation.
“Personally, I will benefit from many of the policies from a Biden-Harris administration,” Duran said. “I am very concerned with LGBTQ+ and women’s rights. The LGBTQ community has been the center of suppression for decades, and once again, we see the rights of the community being questioned when it comes to overturning same-sex marriage in a now overwhelmingly conservative Supreme Court.”
Duran is personally affected by seeing the women in his life influencing him to be the man he is and seeing their reproductive and health rights be challenged, and it is devastating to him, he said.
Duran, the social media director for the UH Democrats, said he will benefit from a Biden administration in regards to student loan forgiveness. He and others will see financial relief with Biden’s proposed student, health and tax plans, he said.
“Our nation is politically frustrated, polarized and exhausted. I would personally feel defeated if there is another four years of a Trump administration,” Duran said. “However, I will not give up fighting.”
Hamlett sees a different outcome for himself as Trump has promised economic developments for minority communities, he said.
“Biden has a disastrous record with his history of harming the Black community and promoting economic growth,” Hamlett said.
As more college aged students turn out to vote, there are more opinions on what life will be like even after the votes are in and the final decision is made.
Duran said there are clear choices that must be made in this election and it is everyone’s job to continue to be engaged long after Nov. 3.
“There is no longer a race to ensure the election of a candidate,” Duran said. “It is a race to ensure democracy.”
