Ellen Nguyen, Environmental Science, Fourth-year, (she/her)
Are you registered to vote?
“Yes, I am registered to vote.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“This election, I’m definitely looking at environmental justice, renewable energy sources, women’s reproductive rights and overall, just progressive-leaning candidates who are supporting a ceasefire.”
Larissa Leon, Biology, Third-year, (she/her)
Are you registered to vote?
“I’m registered to vote.
What issues are important to you in this election?
“My biggest concerns for this election are reproductive justice and immigration because I have a lot of family members, my parents and myself, who came to this country as immigrants. So, being in danger is a big concern for me.”
Saba Najafi, Biology, Fourth-year, (she/her/hers)
Are you registered to vote?
“Not yet. I plan to register in person and vote in person, so that’s what I’ll be doing.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“The biggest thing as President of the Planned Parenthood Generation Action on campus has to be women’s reproductive justice rights. As a woman and because of those close to me who have received care from Planned Parenthood, I think it’s a very important organization that we need to keep funding and supporting. So I will definitely be voting for Kamala Harris in this election as she stands for that and she’s made it clear that she will be supporting Planned Parenthood and backing us up.”
Christopher Buchanan, Business Administration, Fourth-year, (he/him)
Are you registered to vote?
“Yes, I’m registered to vote in Southern California.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“I believe that taxation is very important. Everything has gotten more expensive in the past four years, so I think that is very important for that [topic] to be a main discussion in the debates. It keeps on getting brushed over in favor of stuff like social events in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.”
Eric Phan, History, Fourth Year (he/him)
Are you registered to vote?
“I am registered to vote. I’ve actually already filled out my ballot.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“[One issue] that I majorly care about is business opportunity because I come from a family that are business owners. My mom owns a nail salon and my dad is trying to open a new business. I find a lot of the costs, especially with inflation, that businesses are extremely hard to set up nowadays … The second issue is individual liberty. I feel that a large part of our culture is exchanging liberty for security and people are more inclined to feel more safe than free and that is a very concerning trend.”
Heili Shah, Psychology, Second-year, (she/her)
Are you registered to vote?
“Yes, I am registered to vote.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“I’m really interested in the climate change discussion as well as our education [system].”
Christian Moloian, Media and Cultural Studies, Fourth-year (he/him)
Are you registered to vote?
“I’m 21 years old and able to vote now.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“Both of the politicians aren’t really that great. They both are kind of bad in a sense, [but] Trump especially is awful. He’s a terrible person — just a racist, bigoted candidate of all time. Kamala isn’t amazing either. She’s much better than Trump … but she’s not really hitting much of the hard things that need to be focused on, like the war in Gaza and trans issues. [Another issue] is the homeless population … Homeless people need to be supported, not treated like garbage … They’re as much human beings as you and me at the end of the day. It’s awful what’s happening to them.”
Vianney Castillo, Psychology, Fourth-year, (she/her/hers)
Are you registered to vote?
“Yes, I am.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“One of the issues that I’m most passionate about is probably immigration issues. I come from a family of immigrants and I have first-hand seen the toll that it takes on them. My family is currently in the process of getting their legal status but I’ve seen how long that takes and how unfair it is that some people kind of go through the process super quickly while others have been waiting for years … It’s so unfortunate how … immigrants have a negative stereotype around them. But most immigrants are really hard working people and they deserve proper healthcare and different resources that U.S. citizens get.”
