By Vicki Ungvarsky
November 5, 2024, is an important date to put into your calendars. It will be Election Day here in the United States. We will vote for our new President. Why is this important to me specifically? There are a variety of issues I feel strongly about, whether they impact me personally, my whole family, or other citizens. “Other citizens” include, but are not limited to, fellow Tri-C students. It is fair to say we may share some or many of the same concerns.
What qualities would I like to see in a new President? It is important to me that the next President is both well-spoken and eloquent when addressing Americans and the rest of the world. The person needs to speak respectfully and factually as well. It is disappointing that we now need to utilize fact-checkers during debates. Overall, the President needs to have a good public image. They need to come across as caring and empathic yet authoritative.
What issues would I like to see addressed? The United States’ current inflation issues are a good starting point. This impacts us as students because, with inflation, the cost of college tuition has gone up. For example, as of May 2024, Tri-C’s cost per credit hour increased by five dollars. Now, picture what paying for four years of college, instead of two, may look like over the next decade. I would like to see a new President commit to providing free public college education, much like what is done for primary and secondary schooling. Then, they should lower the student loans’ interest rate for those who have already taken them out and still owe.
New jobs need to be created to improve the current unemployment rate. These can include builders for new infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital content creation and marketing, and teaching, just to name a few. If students must still pay off loans post-graduation, jobs must be available for them upon graduation. There also needs to be the creation and strengthening of more labor unions, which will provide more job security and better treatment for employees.
Other costs need to be decreased to improve the quality of life during people’s time as students at Tri-C and thereafter, such as childcare and healthcare. As for me, personally, as a mother of a child who is on the spectrum, I would like to see more government funds go towards improving Special Education programs and reducing the cost of autism and/or disability-specific schools if it is found that public education is not the best situation for a differently-abled student. With proper and thorough schooling, this would also increase the number of disabled people who are eligible to be given jobs.
Two other issues that may be of the most importance are the mental health crisis in America and our relationships with other countries. There need to be more campaigns to end the stigma against mental illness. When looking at the news, it seems like it is more common for someone to have at least one mental health issue as opposed to none. More people would get the help they need to lead content, satisfying, fulfilling lives if they did not feel judged by society. More funds should go towards mental health services in this country. Everyone also has the right to feel safe in their country of residence. We need a President who knows how to form more allied relationships and decrease the number of enemies who seek to harm our nation.
While there are other topics that America’s next President needs to address, such as veteran affairs, women’s right to healthcare, climate change, retirement plans, and limitations on Senator and House Representative terms, I have discussed the ones I feel were most relatable to many readers. Regardless of who wins the presidency, we will end the night hoping for a better tomorrow.
