Here in America, there seems to be speculation among the older generation that the youth doesn’t care to vote. After connecting with and interviewing several Cabrillo Community College students leading up to the primary elections on March 5, I found the opposite of speculation. The younger generation wants to vote and wants their voices to be heard, but young voters must choose and endure four years with either of the two unfavorable candidates leading the way: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

I interviewed a political science teacher and eight students on-campus, all from different backgrounds and walks of life, and asked them how they felt about this upcoming election, if they would vote and who they’d vote for. 

I met with Nick Rowell, a political science teacher since 2014, and asked him what the common opinions were amongst his students and how they leaned politically. He shared it was a diverse group of students, some progressive, some conservative, and some centralist.

“In some ways, I find that in terms of different political beliefs, Cabrillo is often a more diverse place than people assume,” Rowell said. “It’s a community college in a left-leaning part of California. Everybody must be super progressive or liberal and you can notice a little bit of that skew. It’s definitely not the whole story.”

So what is the whole story? I’ll let the students tell you how they feel and who they want to vote for: 

During our conversation, Savanah Evans expressed how worried she is about the way our country is going.

“I’m super scared, honestly, to see how our world is going to turn out,” said Evans, a 19-year-old psychology major.“I’m really scared about women’s rights and especially LGBTQ+ rights.”

However, this anxiety is what motivated her to get involved and vote. But she isn’t thrilled about the choices this election.

“Biden’s not a great option, but he’s better than Trump, so that’s who I’m going to vote for,” Evans said.

She isn’t the only person I interviewed who shared this sentiment. In fact, several other students offered a similar opinion.

Apollo Ybarra is so conflicted over their choices in the 2024 presidential election that they considered not voting.

“In the past, I voted for Joe Biden, and I think now, I feel really torn if I want to vote at all, which is not something that I thought I would feel,” said Ybarra, a 21-year-old psychology major.

“I feel like when you vote in America, you also have to consider the well-being of the people in other countries because of how much money the American government funnels into wars in different places,” they added.

While some students might not vote, others, like Raphael Gomez, a 23-year-old biology major, plans to vote for a third party.

“I think there’s not really any great candidates,” Gomez said. “I’m not really invested in who’s going to end up winning because there’s not really anyone that I’d be excited to see be our president.”

Let’s be honest: the rematch between Trump and Biden is the last thing Americans wanted, especially the young voters. Gomez plans to vote for a third party this election, and he’s not alone. 

Jack McCourton, 21, no declared major, says he’s feeling cynical about this upcoming election and plans to vote for someone in the Green Party.

“I’ll be voting third party for president, pretty much symbolically,” McCourton said. “I’m voting for Dr. Cornel West of the Green party, he’s a long-time intellectual, and I agree with everything he says.”

But the national elections weren’t the only political items on McCourton’ planned to vote for’s radar. He also planned to vote Yes on Measure M in the primary elections.   

In case you aren’t aware of what Measure M is, it’s a local measure that would increase the percentage of required affordable units from 20% to 25% for new housing developments with 30 or more units. It could also play a role in changing the height limit on buildings in Santa Cruz, which is currently limited between six-and-eight stories tall. The Measure ultimately did not muster the votes to pass.

After connecting and conversing with some of Cabrillo’s students, I was surprised to find how unique and diverse the opinions were amongst the youth. It’s beautiful that the young voters are going against the speculation and making up their minds. My colleague and photographer, Natalie Allison, said it best: “Cabrillo’s thinking is more diverse than what meets the eye.”