Americans, this fall, are being polled incessantly. Almost every day, sometimes more than one time a day, a new poll comes out for this or that.

Yet, almost regardless of who does the polling or when Americans are polled this fall, the results are the same.

They are dissatisfied with the direction the country is taking and the candidates at the top of the ticket.

Midwestern students were no different.

In a recent campus survey, 50 percent of students reported being dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S.

But it was an incomplete picture. 

This time the students would have the ability to answer that ever looming question.

Why? Why are 50 percent of students dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. today? And what exactly is it that dissatisfies them? 

“The U.S. is moving backwards,” Arnelle Ballard, early childhood education, junior said. “We aren’t progressing in any way. We spend too much time fighting each other when we should be helping each other.”

Ballard also chose to add former candidate Bernie Sanders, who was not on the survey, refusing to back the front-runners.

That speaks volumes to many who are terribly unhappy with the presidential candidate choices of this years election.

“Most students feel the country has been going in the wrong direction with the wrong leaders in charge,” Everett Ware, chemistry freshman, said.

“Pretty much everything happening in the U.S. government is dissatisfying,” said one anonymous survey taker.

“I just don’t feel like America is headed in the right direction,” said Alexandria Weiskircher, junior in geoscience. “I feel like we are so split within America. There is no unity.”

There were also a few who chose to be anonymous with insightful comments. 

One respondent wrote that even though they are a legal immigrant in the U.S. they have seen many countries struggling, who are worse off than Americans could ever imagine. And that even though things may not be going according to expectation, life in the U.S. is better than other countries. 

“We’re supposed to be free but that’s really just an idea,” said another anonymous survey taker.

Two anonymous survey takers said that the media puts too much emphasis on the negative events that occur making everything seem worse off than it actually is, and that they are dissatisfied with the misinformation in the media.

Due to this reason, many students have chosen to silence their voice and not vote in this years election.

“People rely on media and don’t do their own research on specific issues and candidates,” said Courtney Waldron, junior in marketing. “Both candidates are really controversial and issues aren’t being addressed appropriately.”

On the other hand, the surveys showed that over half of the students have made a decision on who they are voting for despite the conflicting views regarding both candidates.

TRUMP VOTERS

“Both party representatives are so extreme in their beliefs that people cannot relate to them. Also, both candidates have had numerous scandals,” Kelsey Purcell, mass communication, sophomore, said. “I am dissatisfied with how this election year has seemed more like a reality tv show than an election.”

It turns out that Purcell is not alone in feeling like the debates for Trump and Clinton were so diluted with personal attacks that the real issues were not even discussed.

“Students feel that they don’t have someone who represents them.” Jeanette Perry, mass communication post baccalaureate student, said.

“We have two presidential candidates whom don’t deserve the title of president,” Colton Havins, computer science freshman, said.

“There is a lot of confusion, hate and anger surrounding our nation, especially in terms of the election. People’s morals and values are constantly being tested,” said Jacob Spicer, nursing junior. 

Kaitlyn Veitenheimer, business sophomore, said, “It is sad that America is supposed to be the greatest country, but these are the two best candidates we can come up with. How are things supposed to get better when this election is basically picking which candidate is the ‘least bad.’ “

Meghan Tenbrink, radiology technician freshman, said she believes the reason why students are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. is because our country is falling apart, and people are turning on each other rather than helping each other. “What dissatisfies me is how much brutality and hatred is going on,” added Tenbrink.

HILLARY VOTERS

“The U.S. is filled with a lot of confused and selfish people. Our country is becoming more and more embarrassing to represent between the twisted justice system, the scandals, and much more,” Nakaela Jackson, criminal justice junior, said. “Everything dissatisfies me about the U.S. I am not proud to be from a country where there is more hate than love. there is no order or unity, its pathetic.”

“Social issues are not being addressed effectively,” Holly McCreary, English junior, said. “I’m dissatisfied by the inequalities minorities and women face in the U.S.”

“Because of society’s distrust in government, I feel that the people as a whole feel unsafe and that the economy is on a down turn,” Robert Carper nursing freshman, said. “I am dissatisfied that politicians are running this country instead of intelligent people that can shape the direction of the country,” Carper said.

“I’m dissatisfied with the fact so many people support Donald Trump. There are still so many racial and gender inequalities,” Amy Jobe, sociology junior, said. “I hate seeing on the news cops killing people or mass shootings because someone is gay or black. It’s infuriating.”

“With most of this being our first year to vote, it’s sad knowing that we don’t have much to choose from. We are making a deal with the devil,” Chynna Darcus, political science freshman, said.

Of the 70 students that completed the questionnaire, 28 are voting for Clinton, 24 said they were voting for Trump, 15 were choosing not to vote due to the candidates on the ticket and three students picked other.

“We have the worst two people running for president,” Jordan Green, nursing sophomore, and Gary Johnson supporter said.

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