By Devon Blood
As we head toward the 2016 presidential election, three issues in particular stand out the most to me and have my attention. Being a senior in high school with a plan to continue my education at college, there is an obvious financial burden to overcome. With that being said, Bernie Sanders promoting a better way to cut the cost of education has caught my attention.
While Sanders wants to eliminate all or most of the cost of colleges, the Republican side plans to focus on making student loans the university’s responsibility. While both sides want to cut the cost of college, Bernie Sanders seems more inclined to actually take a stand on it.
Also, another issue that I feel strongly about is government funding for Planned Parenthood. This subject can be sensitive to talk about and have a lot of in-between thinkers, however, Planned Parenthood involves more than just pro life or pro choice.
Planned Parenthood provides a chance for women who cannot provide enough to go see a doctor to be able to get the medical care they deserve along with contraceptives to avoid making the difficult decisions in the future. With this being said, it is clear this is a more liberal way to think of this situation and most Republicans are against federal funding to Planned Parenthood. I believe if the government aided in funding, Planned Parenthood can continue to help women across the country.
Lastly, headed toward the 2016 presidential election, another issue that concerns me is immigration. I believe America is a great place to live, and we should be encouraging people to live here. With that being said, people should also have to be allowed to live here and do it legally. However, the process of getting into America can be so difficult it could make people think there is no other choice than to come in illegally. With altering the legal way of immigration to make it more doable to more people, I think it could reassure people of coming into America and doing it the right way.
As of today, Bernie Sanders would have my vote. I watched him speak at Franklin Pierce University right before the New Hampshire primary. I heard him emphatically touch upon each issue that concerns me. He is the most vocal about cutting the cost of college, and also is for government funding on Planned Parenthood. Sanders also has similar views as me on immigration, wanting to encourage people to come and live in America.
The future of America looks scary now, as no one knows who will win the election, but the more educated the voters are on the issues surrounding our country, the better the outcome will be.
Devon Blood, 17, of Jaffrey attends Conant High School.