With the Illinois Presidential Primary scheduled for March 15, and all the buzz surrounding the entire debacle, we decided to go out and get some of your opinions on the election and the candidates.

We interviewed several Elgin Community College students to understand the situation at ECC, since this particular election has become one of the most divisive and complicated races the United States has seen in recent years.

Jacob Verner, a second-year student at ECC explained some of his opinions on the state of the nation and who he feels is the best candidate.

“The middle class is suffering and no one is doing anything about it,” Verner said. “In 2009 my mom lost her job because her work could replace her with someone for half of her pay. Since then my mom has been working really hard to make ends meet and to pay bills. We are in no way in trouble of losing anything and my parents can find the money when my brothers or I need it, but we are in no way thriving. What I want to see is the return of the middle class. We need to have confidence in our wallets and that our jobs won’t be sold underneath our feet to the lowest bidder.”

Verner also expressed his desire for reforms to education, stating that his generation is the “most burdened group of students to ever come out of college,” and at the same time has the “lowest chance of getting a job out of college.”

When asked if he was going to vote, Verner responded by saying, “Yes, I’m going to vote for Bernie Sanders.”

Some students, including Verner, have found confidence in candidate Bernie Sanders, citing his attractive goals for social and economic reform, as well as his honesty in the race.

“To be honest, I think Bernie is the most qualified candidate,” Verner said. “The guy has been involved with politics for years and has kept the same opinions and has had the same fire in him to actually be progressive. While he is quite ambitious, to put it lightly, about changing health care and reforming schools, I think he is a great leader and someone who knows what the people want from their government.”

Fifth-semester student, Nikia Dorsey offered a unique stance as she noted how she wants her daughter to be able to earn the same wages as a man.

As another supporter of Sanders, Dorsey said, “If I’m voting off past performance I’d have to vote for Sanders. He has a history of positive outcomes. Unfortunately, I don’t believe he’s the leader that will bring the parties together to get things accomplished.”

First-year student, Jacob Carlson expressed his opposition to the way the GOP candidates have acted.

“There are a lot of flaws with the candidates right now in terms of personality on the Republican side, while Sanders and Clinton are actually acting like people who could become president of the United States,” Carlson said.

Carlson further believes that Hillary Clinton is the most experienced candidate to run the country out of the others.

“She has the most government experience out of anyone else,” Carlson said. “Bernie Sanders is another candidate that has a lot of experience and he is putting out ideas that no other person has before.”

Second-year student, Tori Jarosh offered insight into what she would like to see happen to the country and how she felt about the candidates.

“I would love to see a fair tax on corporations, and elimination of tax loopholes and tax havens that are screwing over our country which trillions of dollars,” Jarosh said.

When asked if the candidates are qualified she answered yes, but that “they’re not the best choices. Trump, I believe, is qualified with his taxes and with the no tax to people who have up to $25,000, which is really nice.”

Some other students have expressed that they are currently undecided or didn’t share their choice candidate.

Second-year student, Steven Waynick is also set on voting, but is currently undecided with his choice candidate.

He is, however, also leaning towards Sanders, stating that, “based on congressional voting history, he seems to be the most honest compared to the other candidates.”

Despite his undecided status, Waynick did express that he would not be voting for Hillary Clinton, saying that she has “consistently made public statements that can be debunked by a single google search,” and that she has “no consistency on her stances and pushes gender as a reason for her candidacy, rather than her qualifications and what she can bring to the table.”

Waynick went on to explain what he would like to see in a candidate running for the Oval Office.

As a currently undecided voter, first-year student, Lenard Ross said, “This campaign is the opposite of what I want in our electoral process.”

To elaborate, Ross said, “We never have quality candidates. We are just forced to choose the lesser of two evils, in my opinion. However, I am going to vote because brave men and women risked their lives so I can do so.”

Will Stringfellow, a first-year student, also believes that none of the candidates are qualified to become president.

“Hillary flip-flops on everything, Trump has no political background whatsoever, and Sanders is an idealist at best,” Stringfellow said.

With all things considered, the majority of the students we talked to were either in favor of the Democratic Party, or Bernie Sanders in particular.

Similarly, no single individual expressed loyalty or optimism towards the GOP.

It will be interesting to see how the race turns out and how the student body will react when the president is chosen and begins their own policies.