HMSA Students Speak Out: What do they want their future president to address?

"I've spent all my life surrounded by a growing community of minority groups. Social inequality is an issue that persists throughout the United States, despite the previous attempts to stop and bring equality to the people. However, years late, the majority remain underrepresented and social issues persist. Gender stratification, income inequality, and discrimination to undocumented students are some...

“[An important] issue [is] climate change. There are clear evidences of the damages global climate change has and will bring. During the presidential campaign, there has been a brief talk on finding ways to help our environment. I want our next president to take a firm stand on the climate crisis we face today.” ~Maria Hazel A.                

“I would like the next president to look into [the] immigration reform. Nowadays laws have become stricter and harsher towards immigrants. Many come from their own countries due to wars and to escape poverty. I know cases where families have lived in America for so long, paid taxes, applied for citizenship, and can't get their legal papers. There needs to be another way [or] process that doesn't...

"I want a president who will protect my freedom of speech. We live in a time where political correctness stops us from having truthful discussions. Political correctness is suppose to avoid words or ideas that might offend a certain group of people. Because the truth might be offensive to others, people will try to shut down the idea. Ben Shapiro once said, '[the] facts don't care about your feelings.'...

"Equal work, equal pay is an issue [that must be addressed]. My gender should not determine my salary, and neither should my ethnicity or race. As a Hispanic female, I think it is unfair that male salaries are higher. I will be attending college in less than a year. I plan to go into the medical field and become a dermatologist. I will have male classmates who will have the same amount of education...

"The next president needs to address the discrimination that various types of people constantly face. Muslims, African Americans, Mexicans, etc. are all looked down upon and there are even political leaders trying to kick these various groups out. That is not how a leader should solve a problem, much less the future president of the United States. The president needs to represent the Declaration of...

"One issue I want the next president to address is the relations between the police and minorities and mainly street life. I have a friend who says he's been to more funerals than graduations, and it kinda sucks because I can say the same. Whether it was by the cops or by a different gang, there's too much death all around. People [are] being killed for no reason. " ~Kevyn M.                

"The next president, whomever it may be, must be tough enough to address the serious issue of Defense. In truth we, the United States of America, are at war with the ideals of ISIS and their Radical Ideas of Sharia Law. They want the destruction of the Western World and all the values we hold close to our hearts: Freedom, Democracy, Education. In my opinion, the next president of the United States...