Connor Crawford
Student Life Editor
Puja Thapa
Administrative Executive Editor
New Hampshire is a very lucky state when it comes to voting, and students are even luckier.
Not only do students get to meet most of the presidential candidates running for president, but they also have the honor of voting in the first primary election in the nation.
The elections were held on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.
The primary happens every four years after the first caucus in the nation, which is traditionally held in the state of Iowa.
The New Hampshire primary was a great place for students to cast their vote for who they want to be the next president of the United States.
Will Fabian was one of the Keene State students who decided to go out and vote in the first primary.
“It’s important to be involved with your country,” Fabien explained. “And one of my friends is in the military and he convinced me to [vote].”
A student who was at the polls, but decided to remain unnamed, explained how they felt it’s important to go out and vote.
“I feel like it is your duty to your country,” said the student. “If you don’t go and vote, you can’t make a change in your country and if you are not contributing to the change in the country, you have no right to complain about the issues you care about.”
Over the past month, and a great part of the fall semester, a substantial number of presidential candidates have been filling up the campus, hoping to catch votes from students and first-time voters.
During their visits, a number of the candidates held town hall meetings, meet-and-greets and gave students chances to discuss political issues with candidates.
Sophomore Michael Kearney is another KSC student who voted in the primary. “I am not the biggest fan of our current president. I am also not the biggest fan of certain other candidates who were running in the Democratic Party, and the candidate who I voted for I felt pretty strongly about most of his ideas, so I decided I should go vote,” Kearney said.
Fabien thinks that the presidential candidates coming to campus were helpful in making his decision at the polls.
“It helped me pick out who I wanted to vote for more,” Fabian stated.
“Meeting the candidates was one of the highlights of my time here at Keene State,” the unnamed student said. “Not only was it a great chance to see a possible future president, but it also cleared up my doubts about who I should vote for in the primary.”
Even if the candidate who Fabian voted for in the primary does not end up getting the bid for president, he will still be voting in the general election in November.
“I will absolutely be voting in November,” the unnamed student explained. “Not only is voting important to our country, but it is also fun to see everyone getting involved and making a change in our country.”
Kearney said it is important for students to go and vote. “I know it’s kind of cheesy to say that every vote matters, but every vote kind of does matter,” he said. “I think it’s important to have your voice be heard in democracy for it to work properly.”
Kearney agreed that voting day should be declared a national holiday, since it will likely get a lot more people to go out and vote.
Connor Crawford can be contacted
at CCrawford@kscequinox.com
Puja Thapa can be contacted
at PThapa@kscequinox.com
