Some millennials still ‘on the fence’ while Clinton rallies youth at PBSC

Dur i n g h e r 3 0 - minut e speech at an early-voting rally at Palm Beach State College on Wednesday afternoon, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said something that rings true for many millennials.

“This election,” Clinton said in front of an estimated 2,000 supporters inside the Elisabeth W. Erling Gymnasium on the college’s sprawling suburban Lake Worth campus, “is more important to young people than anything else.”

But many of those young people are having a tough time deciding whether they want to vote in an election that has become so divisive and nasty.

A recent USA Today/Rock The Vote poll shows millennials back Clinton over her Republican challenger Do n a l d Tr u mp by more than 3-to-1. That same poll also shows that enthusiasm among millennials about voting is declining.

“It’s been a craz y election,” said Yailen Mejias, an 18-year-old freshman who attended Wednesday’s rally. “Some people would rather not vote because they don’t like either candidate.”

Brandon Merino, a 21-yearold PBSC political science major, said he’s not sure who he’s going to vote for.

“I’m on the fence,” said Merino, a Lake Worth resident. “I want to see if Hillary inspires me a little bit.”

A n d r e w M a r t i n e z , a 28-year- old student, said more young voters should explore third-party candidate Gary Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico.

“We’re kind of limited in who we have to vote for,” Martinez said. “My generation is divided, with many saying they’re not going to vote.”

M a n y P B S C s t u d e n t s lamented Vermont Sen. Ber- nie Sanders, who had a huge following among young people, wasn’t the Democratic nominee.

“I was for (Bernie) Sanders,” said Cindy Campos, an 18-year-old PBSC freshman. “But I have to vote because anyone is better than Trump.”

Hundre d s o f s t u d e n t s came to the rally, some wearing powder blue “Madam President” T-shirts or sporting Clinton campaign buttons. The line to get in snaked around the gym. Some students wanted to bring their own homemade signs, but the campaign doesn’t allow that. “It’s all about branding,” one college staffer said.

Chris Raymond, a 20-yearold student, said he likes Clinton because of her experience.

“Electing her would be like another four years of President Obama,” he said.

Aliddy Diaz, a 19-year-old sophomore, said Clinton inspires her.

“She’s breaking the ceiling for women,” said Diaz, student body president at the Palm Beach Gardens campus. “This has always been a man’s job.”

Rose Destin has her own reasons for why she voted for Clinton.

“She doesn’t curse like Trump,” Destin said.

Af t e r t h e r a l l y, where Clinton took several jabs at Trump — “One person can’t act like he’s in charge of everything in America,” — most students said they were impressed by Clinton. Others weren’t as wowed.

“I wanted her to talk more about economic policies,” said Parker Steinberg, an 18-year-old Wellington resident who’s leaning toward voting for Trump.

Meanwhile, Campos liked what she heard.

“It was amazing,” she said. “Hillary just reinforced why I’m going to vote for her.”