I arrived at the suffocatingly small room early to watch the first presidential debate and could instantly smell the Chick-fil-A; my stomach tightened and I cringed. Being vegan for three years, I am not spending precious homework time trying to get some free Chick-fil-A, but I came to watch the debate hoping to understand politics a bit more by the end. I was surprised to see so many college students show up to watch—they probably came for the chicken corpses—but that’s a discussion for another time. As I continued watching, the fighting between the two reminded me of two chickens running around without heads.

Now let me tell you, I know almost nothing about politics, I am going to be honest, but from the way these two candidates discussed the issues I don’t think I know anything more than I did before the debate. I’m not going to bash any candidate or marvel at the stupidity of some of the things said, but I am going to remind you that what you believe matters. I can say that I do agree with Hillary on her views of climate change, her ideas for renewable energy, raising the minimum wage, and having equal pay for women. Those ideas are really important to me, my veganism and love for the environment is integral to my identity, but so is seeing every point of view. Understanding creates community. When you understand your peers, you begin to open a conversation that can lead to a greater and closer community. So I asked my peers at Eastern University, "What did you really think about the debate?" and here is what they had to say:

1.

"I'm voting third party! For Gary Johnson from the libertarian party. He's doing pretty well in the polls, and I'm sure he'd do much better if people knew who he was (considering the other two terrible candidates). The system kicked him out of the debates, if he was in, I'm sure he'd be winning in the polls. #letgarydebate"

2.

"This is a big mess. It is sad that these two candidates are the best America can produce. Nonetheless, we still have to vote and choose someone who will represent us. Voting third party will not make anything better! Third party votes do not count because of the electoral system. All I can say is that we have a moral and political duty to vote wisely. We have to look at policies and ignore parties at this point because this is all just a big mess!"

3.

"I was at the 9/11 memorial this weekend, and I do not think that anyone was against the war when the attack happened- the pain is still felt by everyone. I do not think that our current conversation about whether or not the war was founded is important, but no one, Republican or Democrat or another party, could determine the amount of pain that would come from it. I do think that the "temperament" of the president is important in continuing to deal with that pain."

4.

"All of this is extremely ridiculous and sad. To see how these candidates bash at each other like two badly tempered five-year-olds puts shame on the American identity. To think that this country filled with so many intelligent people could only come up with these as the representatives to raise and lead this country is awestruck to me. But we have to vote regardless so might as well look at the policies and pray that God has mercy on this country."

5.

"This election is the most disturbing one in the history of our country. Filled with mentally and ethically unqualified candidates, there is no clear way of voting."

Well, there you have it. I can't wait to discuss the next debate with you all. Maybe we'll order veggie burgers instead? (Okay, okay, a vegan can dream can't I?)