Quinnipiac University students are set to vote in the 2020 presidential election, and the university offered free shuttle rides to local polling locations for students living on-campus.
Vincent Contrucci, director of the Office of Community Service, emailed students about the opportunity and was in North Lot checking people in prior to the shuttles’ arrival.
Shuttles were available to students on the Mt. Carmel and York Hill campuses, which ran from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., respectively. Students on Mt. Carmel were dropped at the Hamden Public Library, while those on York Hill traveled to Westwoods School.
“The shuttles do help a lot,” said Sara Ricchiuti, freshman accounting major. “Because as a freshman, I had my ballot and I wasn’t really excited (about) mailing it in because I was kind of scared about that. So, the shuttles helped a lot, so it gives me at least a little peace of mind that the polls will get my ballot.”
Chris Simms, a freshman criminal justice and sociology double major, echoed Ricchiuti’s sentiments. Additionally, he praised Quinnipiac for smoothly helping him register to vote in Connecticut.
“I’m from New York City, but transferring my voter registration to Connecticut was so easy,” Simms said. “I thought they did an excellent job.”
The 2020 presidential election is an opportunity for a new group of individuals to cast their votes and exercise their “civic duty,” Contrucci said.
“I feel like with the election being as big as it is, everyone needs to vote and get their political views represented even if the outcome isn’t what people want,” Ricchiuti said when asked why she’s voting.
The two main candidates of the presidential election are President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. For Simms, the choice is easy.
“I’m a big (Barack) Obama guy, so I have to show my support for Joe Biden,” Simms said. “I think he’s the best fit for our nation at this point.”
Alyssa Lawson, an undergraduate intern of the Office of Community Service and a senior health science major, said that this year’s election is critical for the country’s youth.
“I think it’s the first time that the younger generations are really having a chance to put their voice out there,” Lawson said. “Not because they haven’t been able to in the past, but because there hasn’t been a push to really get our voice out there. We’re at a time in our lives that a lot of people are being oppressed, and it’s finally coming to power that you can do something to change it.”