Interesting. Amusing. Entertaining. Surreal.
That’s how Hofstra University students outside the debate hall in Hempstead on Monday afternoon described this year’s presidential election.
“It’s super-amusing and it’s keeping everyone even more interested,” said Danielle Ribaudo, 20, a junior.
And some expect the entertainment to continue during the first presidential debate Monday night between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“I think they are just trying to one-up each other,” another junior, Nicole Fluke, 20, said.
Zachary Alexander, 20, also a junior, said he doesn’t expect the debate to meet all the hype it has received.
“I think we’re actually going to get surprisingly a very boring performance by the both of them,” he said. “I really think tonight they’re going to lay out their policies, they’re going to talk about what they want.”
Ribaudo said she hopes debate moderator Lester Holt pushes the candidates to go into more detail about what they believe and how they will carry out their policies.
“Neither candidate is really regarded as that trustworthy,” she said. “He needs to get down to what they actually believe.”
She added that Monday should be the night Trump “drops the bullying act.”
Christina Robert, 19, a sophomore, said that if she could ask Trump anything, she would ask him about his “end goal for America.” “What is his concrete plan to make us great again?”
And she would ask Clinton: “Is she going to build off of Obama’s plan or create new plans that would be more effective for us?”
But Robert said she doesn’t expect those questions to be answered at the debate.
Other students said gun control and student loans were major issues they hope will be addressed.
“There’s a shooting every day, which is super-frustrating to see,” said Ashini Kaluarachi, 19, a sophomore. “I think that needs to be addressed.”
