Wearing a blue “H” sticker and calling Donald Trump the most “unfit and underqualified candidate to ever run” for president, junior and IU Democrats President Terry Tossman made it clear who the organization would be supporting from the very start of last night’s callout meeting.
College Democrats at IU adopts the Democratic party’s platform and endorses its official candidates, Tossman said. This means the organization will support Hillary Clinton in the general election.
Despite this official stance, its members have mixed views on the candidate.
Tossman, who is voting for Clinton, was a Bernie Sanders supporter during the primaries. He said the candidates’ similar stances, paired with Clinton’s experience, has now made him an eager voter for the current Democratic nominee.
He said he would not be personally endorsing her if he did not truly believe his organization had made the right choice.
“Democrats agree on various things, and it’s easy to support a candidate,” Tossman said.
Sophomore Sydney Imes had a view similar to Tossman’s.
Imes, a transfer student, was drawn to the IU Democrats meeting because of the upcoming election, she said.
As another previous Sanders supporter, she said she will be voting for Clinton in November.
“I think she’ll do better than Trump, which is all I can ask,” Imes said.
Because of the nearness of the general election, more people have shown interest this year in the organization than in the recent past, Tossman said. Some want to be involved in campaigns, while others show up just to learn more about the issues.
For sophomore Konnor Cook, the latter was the case.
As transfer student from Ivy Tech, Cook said he has never been involved in a campus political organization before, so he attended the callouts for both IU Republicans and IU Democrats.
Although Cook considers himself a moderate, it is unlikely he will vote for Clinton, he said.
“There’s so much scandal involving Hillary Clinton I can’t bring myself to vote for her,” Cook said.
Even though he has not completely ruled her out, he said he is split between Donald Trump and Gary Johnson as of now.
For others, the choice was much clearer.
Senior Morgan Murphy, an off-and-on three-year member of IU Democrats, said she has thought Clinton was the most qualified since the primaries.
She said she is involved in IU Democrats because of the importance of this year’s races.
“I believe there’s a lot of important elections in Indiana right now, and I think college students could be a deciding factor, which is scary because college students don’t vote,” Murphy said.
Senior Kegan Ferguson, president of College Democrats of Indiana, said IU students must vote at all levels because November’s ballot includes races for Indiana governor and state and national congressional positions in addition to United States president.
Through his position, he has worked with several campaigns in the recent months, including Clinton’s, Ferguson said.
Ferguson has supported her since the primaries. He said he believes she will be able to beat Trump and pass a Democratic agenda through congress better than Sanders could.
“I agreed with Bernie’s ideals in the primaries, but I think pragmatism is the most important thing in politics,” Ferguson said.
He said he thinks Trump, with his racist and sexist policies, is hurting Democrats across the board, but said he is optimistic about the state’s outcome in November.
“I think we’re about to see a blue wave in Indiana this year,” Ferguson said.
