What was the most important vote you cast this election? Why?

“The most important vote for me is for Henry T. Perea for mayor of Fresno. I think he’s got the experience and he’s got the connections. I think he’ll be the better mayor for Fresno. I know him personally, I’ve known him for a while.”

Bradley Norris
Senior
Criminology

“Both [Barack Obama and Henry T. Perea] represent change that the youth is really wanting. After the past eight years, it’s really evident that we need to go a different direction. Both Henry T. Perea and Barack Obama represent the values and the protection of civil rights that is needed and has been denied for the past eight years.”

Jennifer Carlos
Senior
Philosophy and Political Science

“It’s not really who I’m voting for, it’s who I’m voting against, and that’s Obama. He has zero experience. He was only senator for 143 days before he was running for president. John McCain fought for our country. Obama was a community organizer in Chicago, which means he worked for a soup kitchen or something.”

Brendan Heglas
Senior
Ag. Business

“I [voted] for Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. I’m voting for McCain because his terms in the Senate have proven that he is willing to work with both sides to get things done. Senator Obama does not work with the other side. He’s one of the most partisan members of the Senate. I feel that his promise of hope and change is a false promise because his record shows otherwise.”

Ali Sadoian
Senior
Political Science

“We need change. We’ve had eight years of the worst president in the history of this country. As we can tell from the status of the economy and this unending war — that had no place being started in the first place — we need somebody with fresh ideas. I don’t think John McCain is that person.”

Matthew Mazzei
Senior
Pre-Nursing

“[I voted] McCain-Palin for president. I’d rather have him than Obama in there. I just think the things that Obama promises aren’t true. He’s not a very good speech-giver, not a good debater. He doesn’t follow the rules. He doesn’t have any experience at all. He hasn’t even been in the Senate that long.”

Alex Bergwerff
Junior
Ag. Business

“I [voted] for Barack Obama. What he stands for falls in line with what I believe. Aside from that, just looking at who Senator Obama is, as a man and as an individual, he has been involved in the community, bringing the community together at a grassroots level. Someone that can show that kind of leadership is somebody I want to be president.”

Christina Guzman
Senior
English and Public Administration

“[I voted] for Barack Obama because he inspired all of us, especially me, to vote and to get involved in politics. He actually inspired me to run. He’s making us believe in hope over divisive candidates and hope over fear and attacks. He’s different from any other candidate we’ve ever had and I believe he’s not part of the same old club in Washington.”

Humberto Avila
Senior
Biology