RABBIA MOLAI
managing editor
rabbia.molai@my.tccd.edu
For students, the 2022 midterm elections represented a time to use their voices to create change, and the results will now determine what that change looks like.
Nov. 8 was the last day to cast a vote, and for some students the days beforehand were tension-filled to say the least.
“Honestly, leading up to the midterms I genuinely felt terrified,” said NE student Ashley Foster. “I was terrified for women and our rights and what could possibly continue to be stripped away from us.”
Foster was a first-time voter. She spoke about the importance of making her opinion heard and the genuine excitement she felt of being able to speak up for what she believed in.
“It was very important to me to share my voice because I knew as a young person it was my job to show up and vote,” she said.
For students like Foster, many issues were unresolved on the front line when it came to the midterms. Having the chance to resolve them felt more crucial than ever.
“Gun control and abortion are at the top of my personal list of importance,” said Foster. “I think the fact that after the tragic shooting in Uvalde, action needed to be taken.”
Much like Foster, NE student Jake Sembritzky also had a lot riding on the election. For him, the main concerns were regarding the issues with Texas’ power grid and the large number of mass shootings.
“Texas is in a bad spot when it comes to the power grid,” he said. “Nearly the entire state is cut off from the two major international power grids. Yet if we had access to these, millions of people wouldn’t have had to freeze for days on end, resorting to caveman-like survival.”
Issues such as the power grid, gun control and abortions were on everyone’s minds and they were the main reason for some to cast a vote.
“I voted this year, and the main area of importance to me was fixing the power grid and solving the mass shooting crisis here in Texas that has gripped the entire nation,” Sembritzky said.
Sembritzky also spoke about his opinion on Gov. Greg Abbott’s performance during the previous term and how it affected the way he decided to vote this year.
“I think Greg Abbott has done a fair job as governor of Texas the past eight years, keeping taxes low and keeping Texas open to business,” Sembritzky said. “But I personally think Beto would have been a better fit for the next four years as governor of Texas.”
For him, choosing a candidate was about more than picking a side. It was about choosing someone who wanted to help the people of Texas as a whole, and according to him, Beto was the clear choice.
“His [Beto] passion to solve the mass school shooting epidemic we are seeing, as well as fixing the power grid and reinstating a women’s right to choose whether she can obtain an abortion or not, and most importantly his passion to serve all Texans, republican or democrat,” he said.
Some students like Sembritzky wanted to create the change they needed to start at the top, but others felt that sticking to what is known was the best choice for them.
“Most people I know were voting for Beto, which I thought was really interesting,” said NE student Emily Harrison. “Because for as long as Abbott has been in office he’s done a lot to contribute to Texas, making sure that everyone is safe and making sure that everyone is obeying the laws.”
Harrison said she too was nervous about the election this year and wanted to make sure that she made the right decision on the ballot.
“I was honestly anxious as well because I felt like if I didn’t vote for a certain person and they ended up winning I felt like I voted for the wrong person,” she said.
Now as the elections have concluded and the results are in, students are facing the reality of making peace with their votes and coming to terms with how they feel regarding the results.
“As the next few years go on, it will depend how he does things for me to really understand what he’s doing and why he’s doing it,” Harrison said. “It will then make me reflect on ‘Did I regret voting for him or did I like my choice?’”
