Election Day is in less than three weeks, and the hype around it has been unavoidable. The people of the United States of America can vote for whom they believe should be the next president on Nov. 5. Will it be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump?
Immense media circulation and multiple presidential debates make it difficult to miss the two primary candidates’ ongoing campaigns. People are voicing their thoughts and opinions on a variety of platforms, and those online (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube) are predominated by voters of the 18-24 years old demographic — within which the majority of students at Shoreline reside.
One of these medias features “Jubilee”, a YouTube channel with 9.25 million subscribers that strives to promote awareness of ongoing controversial topics and hone human connection in their videos. A recent upload entitled “Can 1 Woke Teen Survive 20 Trump Supporters?” stars 19-year-old liberal Dean Withers, who debates politics and social issues for a living has the potential to shake people’s opinions. Before every 20-minute round, Withers states a topic he would like to debate, and any of the 19 conservatives may sit in the seat in front of him and debate him.
This 1 hour and 43 minute long video addresses highly contested issues, and its potential influence on voting viewers is momentous — especially those who swing between the democratic and republican parties. An audience largely composed of first and second time voters can develop their understanding of the presidential candidates’ policies and beliefs by consuming this political content. It is crucial that every citizen eligible to vote knows who they are voting for and why.
Now with SCC having a handful of U.S citizen students around Withers’ age, it is interesting to hear on what they have to say regarding the contents made surrounding the matter:
“I’m aware of the video made by Jubilee, but overall I’ve heard about the election from social media; it’s been everywhere on TikTok,” said Chelsea Chandra, a Shoreline student. “I’ve seen so much different content about Donald Trump and Kamala — including memes — and I think it’s pretty interesting to see the media expressing the election in such a Gen Z manner.”
Shoreline Community College has promoted voting and political awareness to students through a vice presidential debate watch party, and there will be an Election Talk series hosted in the Ray Howard Library (4237) on Oct. 24 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Your voice matters. For more information on how to vote, visit the website on the poster and follow the instructions shown or go to @scc_studentlife for daily updates on events happening on campus.
