Sam Malone | Managing Editor

Prior to President Trump’s term, I really didn’t pay much heed to politics and could tell you little more than our president’s name. I didn’t vote in the 2016 Presidential Election despite being eligible because, to be honest, I didn’t care.

Following this administration, however, has flung me into the world of politics, and I’ve been trying my best to keep my head above the water. I’ve been compelled, angered, impressed, and, above all, engaged.

We’ve reached record voter turnout in the midterm election, and millenials are a big part of that. In spite of or as a result of the polarizing choices being made, people are getting involved. Like it or not, President Trump’s term has inspired many to partake in democracy, and I think that is the beginning of change in the nation

Michael Urbanec | Sports Editor

When the 2016 election took place, I assumed Americans would see President Trump’s reign as an experience similar to a toddler touching a hot oven door: It’ll hurt for a bit, but they’ll know better than to do it again in the future. Just two years in, I now think I am wrong. The Trump presidency has shown a large portion of the country’s blatant distaste for the truth and critical thinking. American democracy as it exists today desperately needs to be reformed to prevent a vocal minority from again determining the nation’s attitude during a time of turmoil. Trump’s fascist rhetoric has split the country and caused a rise in extremism. His policies come from the long obsolete anti-regulation attitudes of the 1980’s, and any economic improvements seen have yet to affect anyone except the extremely wealthy. Perhaps putting a businessman in charge was a bad plan; he’s done what many CEOs do: cut off resources at the bottom-tier to feed them to the top-tier.

Haley Galvin | Perspective Editor

From the beginning of President Trump’s candidacy, I knew he wouldn’t bring anything good to the White House. President Trump has been treating the press and women in a very harsh manner.

It started with his “locker room talk” and only got worse from there. In my eyes, the president should be a person all Americans, especially young Americans, look up to. However, I do not want any American to look up to a man like Trump. He is constantly slandering reporters, especially women and those of color. A prime example is when he insulted the intelligence of ABC reporter Cecilia Vega in an Oct. 2 news conference.

This is a common occurrence with the president who demeans women and makes it seem as though they know nothing.

He does not set a proper example for the youth in this country, and it scares me to think he has so much influence over the country we live in.

Ginger Simons | Entertainment Editor

In time, diagnostic evaluations will be written about the Trump administration with the benefit of respective hindsight. However, presently, each day brings new developments in the several ongoing debacles dominating news cycles, each described in the same way: unprecedented.

Trump’s conduct resembles nothing seen from any other American president to date; his approaches to domestic and foreign issues are bafflingly one-dimensional, and within the first two years of his presidency, he and his administration have already found themselves in the midst of several criminal investigations.

Though the corruption in Washington runs deep and far predates recent memory, the Trump administration is stirring the pot in a way that party members and commentators on either side have not yet learned to navigate.

Foundational elements of our democracy have been called into question with such startling frequency over only a few short years, and the country needs to reassess its standards before moving into the 2020 election cycle.