Students Say Political Polarization Kept Them From Expressing Candidate Support

As political tensions ran high for the 2024 election, students at Point Loma Nazarene University said they did not feel safe sharing their beliefs on campus. 

Reaves Dayton, a third-year nursing major, said she decided not to vote in this year’s election because she didn’t think she was educated enough and doesn’t care who wins. She said she feels the election has caused division and contention among students and that she didn’t want to add to the tension by voting.

“It’s an uncomfortable time to be alive,” Dayton said. “Even the people closest to me are divided. And if I were to [vote], there’s some people that I would make uncomfortable. … I don’t know enough – can’t make an educated decision, so I’m just not going to make one.”

As a Hawaii native, Dayton grew up in an environment that didn’t talk about politics. She attended a school that she said prioritized Hawaiian culture and practices, where there wasn’t time to learn about politics or U.S. history. She said she’s never watched a presidential candidate debate.

“No matter what anyone votes in Hawaii, it’ll probably be blue [democrat],” she said.

In 2020, 63.7% of Hawaiians voted democrat, according to CNN. For every election year since 1976, excluding 1984, Hawaii has voted blue. 

Dayton said she wants to prepare and do more research for the next election to vote, but finds it difficult to find credible sources. 

“Having to try and learn from a non-biased source is the hardest thing you can do,” she said. “It’s hard to see the whole picture.”

Being in college and not in the workforce yet, Dayton said she also feels that policies she would vote on don’t affect her yet.

“It’s hard for me to see the direct effects when I’m so young,” she said. “I’m in college, and all I have to do is graduate [and I] don’t even have a job yet. Taxes hardly affect me.”

Yet Rosco Williamson, PLNU professor of political science, said voting is still important even for college students, because there are certain policies that directly affect them.

“If college-age students don’t vote, then politicians don’t aim policies at college students,” he said. [Students’ votes] matter in terms of how policies get shaped that matter to [them].”

Dayton said her hobbies and passions growing up also affect her lack of a political stance. She said she didn’t have time to think about politics or care for it. Surfing, learning instruments, songs and hula occupied her and her classmates’ time while in school; politics or watching national news wasn’t a thought, she said.

On a similar note, Williamson said people’s hobbies or jobs do impact their political decisions. If one enjoys outdoor activities, they will likely be aware of environmental policies; if one owns a business, they’ll likely seek economic policies.

In his classes, the topic of election is less about politics and more about political science – less about the news, more about “why things happen the way they do,” Williamson said. “We tend to look for patterns as opposed to what’s happening right this moment.”

Williamson said he’s noticed students avoid talking about politics because it causes tension or arguments; however, he would encourage students to lean into that and find a way to disagree civilly. 

“It’s not about having the different viewpoints, it’s about how the conversation’s going to go if you present those viewpoints,” he said. “What I would like to see is that people have those conversations, but they have them in a civil manner. … be receptive to each other’s ideas, even if we don’t believe them.”

Parents’ beliefs also play a part in shaping students’ political beliefs, according to Williamson. 

“There’s no question that how we grow up is going to shape the way that we think about things,” he said. “Sometimes it’s going to be a complete opposite [belief than a parent]. You want to question [their beliefs] and see if those are still your views.”

Jessica DeYoung, a third-year political science major, said her parents’ beliefs influenced hers until she decided to do her own research when she began college.

“After educating myself a lot more and living in the real world, experiencing my own life,” she said, “and how politics play a role, they’ve definitely diverged a lot.”

As a voter registered in Arizona, a “swing state,” or state where both democratic and republican parties have similar levels of support, DeYoung believes her vote makes more of a difference than in California, a primarily blue-leaning state, according to Public Policy Institute of California. 

DeYoung is an intern for the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, a law office that works with domestic violence victims, where she helps people fill out forms to file restraining orders. She said working there has impacted her voting decisions on judicial offices in Arizona.

Going to school in California, DeYoung said she noticed a significant difference in partisanship between California and Arizona.

“I think that being in California has exposed me to a lot of different things in regard to the prison systems [and] incarceration rates,” she said. “It’s important because I get the opportunity to live here and be a voter in Arizona. The opinions of people are very different here [California].”

She said that playing sports growing up shaped her idea of womanhood and female identity. It gave her an “expanded worldview and [changed] the way [she views] feminist propositions and feminist-based legislation,” she said.

She chooses not to share her beliefs on campus because she’s observed politics to be polarizing. 

“From a [political science] perspective, I think voting is important because it is a way for the general population to be represented,” she said. “It’s a better way for the distribution of opinions to be more equal to who’s in office. The more people who vote, the more people’s voices are heard.”

Williamson’s advice for students preparing for the 2028 election is to research policies that interest them, which will help them understand which candidates match their beliefs. 

“It’s not looking at politics, it’s looking at the thing that you care about,” he said, “and how that plays a role in society through politics.”