In efforts to reveal where Bronx Science students stand on the 2016 election,  The Science Survey polled various homerooms  to see which candidates and policies the students supported. The results revealed that Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, had garnered the most support among our student body.

Students were first asked to pick which candidate they would elect as president. While in nationwide polls, Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are fairly competitive, remaining within 5-10 points of each other in the last few months, Clinton managed to drum up 75% (153) of the 204 student votes. Trump received only 8% (17) of the votes, almost tying with Libertarian Gary Johnson, who received 7% (15) of the votes. Only 4% (8) of students picked Green Party candidate Jill Stein, while the remaining 6% (12) of students remained undecided.  The disparity between nation-wide and school-wide results is likely because of the varying demographics.

When asked whether they believed in climate change, 184 Bronx Science students chose yes, while 16 marked no. The four students who chose “other” indicated that while they believe that climate change exists, nothing can be done to repair the damage it has caused, going as far as to remark that: “Yes, the climate is changing, but people are making it sound way more severe than it really is.” Although these responses may seem surprising, this opinion is common amongst many conservative voters. In contrast, one student wrote, “Climate change isn’t something that you believe in, because it’s a fact!”

Interestingly, only 58% of the polled students were against Trump’s proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. This raises questions as to why Clinton Supporters wouldn’t oppose this proposal, an unconstitutional limit on immigration proposed by a Republican. This is also surprising because 62% of our student body is of Asian heritage and many are first or second generation Americans.

Of the 205 students polled, only 43% (89) were able to correctly match four or more positions with the candidates who held them. This drastically low number indicates that our student body may not be informed regarding the candidates’ platforms.

While filling out the survey, students were allowed to leave comments. In the margin of the second question, one student wrote, “I understand that most of the recent terrorist attacks have been caused by people who identify as Muslims, but temporarily banning them from entering the U.S. is unconstitutional,” going on to state that all immigrants should be thoroughly vetted. This opinion was shared with other students, many of them calling for extensive background checks. However, considering that 119 students did not support the ban on Muslims entering the United States, it can be concluded that a majority of our student body wishes for America to remain a safe haven for refugees and for people of all backgrounds.

Some students took playful jabs at the candidates, writing slogans and phrases such as: “HILLARY OR NOTHING”, “#NeverTrump” and “All I know is that Hillary is better.” Although the polls showed that the majority of the students were Clinton supporters, many of the students had written on the sides of their papers, “I <3 D.T.” and other similar statements.

A similar poll was conducted last November 2015 by The Science Survey staff in which Bernie Sanders received 48.7% of the student vote, Clinton 21.5%, and Trump 19.5%. It seems that most of Bernie Sanders’ supporters began to back Clinton after she won the Democratic Party’s nomination. On the other hand,  Donald Trump’s voters have halved in numbers and are now divided among those who support Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, and are undecided. In light of the second presidential debate and the continuous onslaught of scandals coming to light regarding Trump, one can only wonder how much the student vote will continue to shift.