Athletic Perspective on the Election


BY LUIS LOPEZ


University of Maine athletes are trusted to juggle their mandatory team activities and their academics. With that in mind, another event looming in their heads is their responsibility in the 2016 presidential election.

The student-athlete population might not agree with what candidate to vote for, or how to answer each referendum question, but one thing is for sure, most believe that campaign related events and the race as a whole was less than serious. Some even go as far as to say that they would rather not cast votes, skipping out on the opportunity to elect our next president.

Calleigh Norris, a first year Bioengineering major and track and field athlete, is one student who does not plan on casting her vote.

“[I don’t] participate in politics, especially a year that provides these types of candidates.” said Norris.

With Norris being apart of track and field, she would rather work on her athletic abilities, homework or anything else that can occupy her other than spending time concerning herself with candidates she does not agree with.

Although some student-athletes view the election of 2016 as a type of comedy show, others took the time to exercise their right to vote and cast a ballot. Among them is a football and track and field athlete, Griffin Madden. Madden, a first year Business major goes on record saying that the presidential race was “a joke.” Despite this, Madden went to the polls and casts a vote for Donald Trump.

“Clinton is a snake in the grass and she has also not done her job when dealing with foreign affairs.” said Madden.

Some athletes might not agree with that statement. Many student-athletes agreed with the fact that Hillary was not fit for office due to her changed stances on her policies over the years and the so called “backdoor deals” she was associated with.

As some are not wasting time walking to the polls and casting their votes, others are voting in a way that some call a “waste of a vote.” Branden Kuusela is one who took time to walk and wait in line to cast a ballot for the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

Even though there is no chance that Johnson could win, Kuusela still casted a vote for the Libertarian because he wanted to exercise his right to vote. He voted Libertarian as a Democrat because he could not vote for either candidate due to the fact that “neither are fit for office” and he “personally dislikes each candidate.”

As some do not agree with either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump policies or stance, they wanted to exercise their right to vote, as Kuusela did, and vote Libertarian or Independent.  

When interviewing student-athletes on their view of the election, there were two things that several individuals could agree on. Student-athletes believed that this campaign was one of insults rather than stances and general information.