More often than not, teenagers tend to choose where they fall on the political spectrum based on what their peers or parents believe. In this important election, it is critical that students and adults alike are politically aware. In order to make your vote really count, you must know the facts.

Upon viewing the results from the school-wide mock election held on Oct. 7, the York-hi staff voted to see where we stand as a paper. Nearly 75 percent of our staff voted for Hillary Clinton, and thus, the York-hi has decided that “We’re With Her”.

As a student newspaper, we work hard to keep the peace within our school. However, in this election specifically, it is impossible to disregard the controversy put forth by the two candidates. Therefore, although we are a student media, we must speak out.

Setting aside the frequently visited moral-based issues that have come up throughout this election, we want to begin by discussing policy. Because of the recent and vast outbreaks of gun violence which have plagued America, it is critical that our next president will come into office with a strong, plausible plan for gun reform. To clear the air, by gun reform, we in no way mean ridding the country of the Second Amendment. On Aug. 27, 2015, Clinton tweeted, “We are smart enough–compassionate enough–to figure out how to balance legitimate Second Amendment rights with preventive measures.” To rid our country of violence completely is an impossible task. However, by vowing to take on gun lobby, fight for common sense reforms, and keep guns from terrorists, domestic abusers and other people proven to be violent, Clinton hopes to significantly decrease the number of gun-related deaths in the United States.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has a completely different approach. The morning after the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Trump said to radio host Howie Carr, “It’s too bad that some of the young people that were killed over the weekend didn’t have guns attached to their (hip), frankly, where bullets could have flown in the opposite direction.” Instead of getting guns out of the hands of those who should not have them, Trump wants to place additional guns into the hands of other people, hoping that by arming both parties, the innocent will be protected. As the old saying goes, you can’t fight fire with fire. By arming both parties, it is illogical to assume that gun violence will decrease at all; if anything, it will increase. The only way to stop the gun violence in America is to ensure that guns are being purchased and used for the right reasons.

A lot of the issues that have come up in this election have been based on doing things for the right reasons–sticking to American democratic beliefs. One of the most redundant statements made over and over again this past year has questioned these exact ideals that most Americans claim to stand by: “We need to build a wall.” Since America’s first days as a nation, we have always been known as the world’s “melting pot”, bringing in people from all around and inviting them to become Americans. After World War II, America was in a similar situation to today. From 1938 to early 1944, the US did not pursue any rescue policies pertaining to victims of the Holocaust, afraid that these people would increase the economic depression. The pre-existing anti-semitic feelings in America deepend severely. Although it took six years to institute a working policy under Roosevelt to help the Jewish refugees, in the end, America ended up admitting over 500,000 displaced people into our nation. The economic depression was eventually resolved, despite the sudden increase in immigration. In the frighteningly parallel situation we have today between our country and Syrian refugees, the same lesson must be learned.

“We have no idea who these people are, where they come from,” Trump said of Syrian refugees during his speech in Phoenix on Aug. 31. “I always say, Trojan horse. Watch what’s going to happen, folks. It’s not going to be pretty.” By using the “Trojan horse” comparison, Trump jumps to the conclusion that all refugees will be dangerous people–terrorists–people we don’t want in our country, encouraging Americans to believe that the immigrants are trying to smuggle themselves into our country like the Greek warriors did to ambush the Trojans. But these people are not all dangerous. These are innocent women, children, and people whose lives have been destroyed by wars that our country has ensued upon them. By extending grace to these people, America could potentially save the lives of thousands again.

Clinton is early in recognizing Trump’s flawed immigration policy. After the Brussels, Belgium attack on Mar. 22, Clinton explained on the Today Show that “It’s unrealistic to say we are going to completely shut down our borders.” Although an open-door policy would not only be destructive, but also illogical, we can’t close our country to people that need our help–as evidenced by our history. Hillary Clinton recognizes this and promises to address it.

One of the issues that is most relevant to students at York is education. Each candidate has a different view on how education should be paid for, and as students–going into highschool and college alike–this directly affects us. One of the biggest issues faced by young adults today is being able to pay for higher education. Clinton addresses this issue and has acknowledged that the cost of public universities are far too high for the average American to pay without going into debt. This is why she has put forward a plan to have free tuition for public colleges and universities for families who earn $125,000 or less annually.

While Clinton focuses on the debt-free future for students who attend public colleges and universities, Trump is more focused on people eventually being able to repay current or future loans, not eliminating the loans. This is extremely important to York students because we want to be able to go to college without worrying about how we are going to pay for it. Supporting Clinton in her education policy could mean a debt-free future, or close to it, for hundreds of thousands of students.

Although there are many more policies which we could discuss, in this particular election, one of the most important factors to consider is each candidate’s fitness for presidency. Americans often wonder how we got to this point. Both candidates have their flaws, whether it be scandal or poor behavior, but after deliberating, the York-hi staff believes that Clinton still is the most fit to be our 45th president.

Hillary Clinton is experienced; she has been in politics for nearly her whole life. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 with a Political Science degree, and went on to graduate from the Yale Law School in 1973. After law school, she moved to Arkansas where she married Bill Clinton and became the First Lady of the State of Arkansas. In this position, she became a member of what is now called the Rose Law Firm, and by 1979, she was the first woman partner of that firm. She also founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a nonprofit organization with the goal of educating others and rethinking children’s issues. As First Lady of the United States from 1993-2001, she continued to work hard for families, citing the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 as one of her greatest achievements. After her husband Bill Clinton left the White House, she was one of New York’s senators from 2001-2009. In 2009, she was sworn in as the United States Secretary of State, under the Obama administration.

Donald Trump is not experienced at all. Although Trump graduated with a degree in Economics and Real Estate from the University of Pennsylvania, Trump has absolutely no political experience whatsoever. Of the multi-million dollar businesses Trump owns, these do not make him a viable candidate for President of the United States. Many of his supporters claim that because he is a businessman, he will pull our country out of debt. However, Trump’s businesses have gone bankrupt more than once. Most recently, in 2009, Trump’s sixth bankruptcy occurred within his Trump Entertainment Resorts. A common misconception is that Trump is one of the greatest businessmen of our time; however, his businesses often fail, where he leaves them to become someone else’s problem.

Clinton treats others with respect. It is as simple as that. Clinton is accepting of all people–as evidenced by her strong support of the LGBTQ community, the disabled, the rich, the poor, and everyone in between.

Trump does not treat others with respect. There are too many examples to comprehensively cite in which Trump has

purposefully put down others to put himself ahead. To be brief, Trump has consistently talked down to women, condoning sexual harassment and hateful comments directed at their bodies, as seen in the videos released of Trump on the bus on the set of Access Hollywood with Billy Bush. He has also promoted racism, calling Mexican’s rapists and criminals and suggesting that all American Muslims should be tracked. Furthermore, he has insulted the poor, the disabled, his opposing candidates, and anyone who dares cross him. [For more examples, click here].

Clinton acknowledges her mistakes. One of the most frequently mentioned issues on Hillary’s campaign trail has been the scandal with her emails. Upon being asked about the emails during an interview with ABC News, she said, “As I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts. That was a mistake. I’m sorry about that. I take responsibility.” Although the emails caused an uproar, Clinton was willing to recognize her mistakes and apologize for them. She has never claimed to be perfect, but hopes to learn from her mistakes, becoming not only a greater politician, but a better person overall.

Trump may apologize for some of the awful statements he has made in the past, however he continues to make more and more disrespectful comments. His apologies are insincere. If he truly meant it when he apologized, he would stop continually making hateful comments. He has no intention of changing the way he treats others, and in holding as high of an office as the President of the United States, this behavior is unacceptable. America needs a president who is able to recognize right from wrong and learn from their mistakes. Hillary Clinton has proven herself to be exactly that person.

America is one of the greatest powers in the entire world. Leaders of other nations look to the President of the United States for guidance. America needs our next president to be educated, experienced, and compassionate, and the candidate we can count on to be all of these things is Hillary Clinton.

Tuesday, the fate of our nation lies in the hands of the American people. Get out and exercise your right to vote, because it is more important now than ever before.