Remember what seemed like decades ago, when five names were the five most used words in the US? While that might be a bit (not a lot) of an exaggeration, three Republicans and two Democrats were the cause of a major political discussion. Some were feeling “trusTED” with Texas Senator Ted Cruz, others were hoping for “a new American century” with Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Many were “feeling the BERN” with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. But the future nominations from their respective parties ended up being a former First Lady and Secretary of State, and a famous, successful businessman from New York. From the outside, it may look kind of good, right?

Unless those people are Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald J. Trump. Both seem to have plenty of weaknesses and bad qualities, and I am not going to get into that. My goal is to analyze and explain the results of our mock election and the vibe around school on the eve of election day, not be biased.

Cary-Grove’s mock election was a Republican clean sweep for the Illinois government positions. But the real surprise, the real name everyone was waiting to hear, was the man or woman Cary-Grove High School chose to be the President of the United States of America. And the winner? Donald Trump.

I know I was not the only person who was surprised.Why would Trump win, given the massive hate our age group seems to have for him? Also, Illinois as a whole and the Chicago area are known as primarily Democratic (That’s not to say all are, just the general results of past elections show blue as the primary color of Illinois on political maps), so why would someone so conservative win the mock election?

Some of my fellow Trojan Times staff members had some comments on this.

Kari Radaios said, “I think whatever party your parents lean towards influences what you think for sure.”

Marta Dixon-Kolar agreed. “I’m sure 90% of kids choose the party their parents support.”

Elle Pugh said, “I don’t think I could say it better than Marta or Kari. Kids typically look up to their parents to the point of making political decisions the same way.”  

Gareth Mullins, however, had something a little different to say. “I think people do have open minds to politics. Even at this age. Everyone has a fire that drives them, and morals that back them in the process.”

For me, I do think parents have to do with it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cary and Fox River Grove-wide adult results for tommorow come out similarly to our school mock. But I feel that it also comes down to two other points:

1. Personal opinion. Many students, probably more upperclassmen than underclassmen, have many independent opinions from their parents. Political mindsets are one thing teens separate from their parents’ opinion as they grow up.

1. A joke. As simple as that. I know many people that treat this whole election as a joke, especially Trump. It’s a shame, but it’s the truth. And if that’s how people want to treat this, hopefully they can see the seriousness of it all today, on election day.

Whatever America decides today, there will be controversy. There will be happy people, there will be those who are not. But, if you legally can, go out and vote. The vibe around the school Monday, no matter how bad it’s been these past few months, was anticipation. Everyone, admit it or not, is a little excited to see who will have the most electoral votes at the end of the night. Vote if you are old enough, please. If you are not old enough, encourage those who are to go vote. It may decide your future.