Here’s What 5 College Students think about Gerrymandering

By: The Susquehanna Times

“This isn’t a good look for anyone.”

- Liam, 19, from Boston, Ma.

Liam is an active member of his college’s Democrat club majoring in History Education. He’s been reading the New York Times, listening to NPR, questioning the void, and doomscrolling Twitter for his news. In his free time, he plays guitar and uses Twitter to get into long, needlessly personal fights with strangers. His screentime is roughly sixteen hours a day and he’s mutuals with Elizabeth Warren. He said that the process of redistricting should be done by independent individuals rather than the state legislature, who he says often let personal politics get in the way of fair redistricting. “The people should always be the priority.”

“Redistricting is a part of the Democratic process.”

- Ava, 22, from Lancaster, Pa.

Ava is a registered Republican double majoring in Communications and Marketing. She watches both Fox News and CNN to see opinions from both sides on issues and compare their coverage. She also uses Twitter for more immediate updates. When she’s not in class, Ava studies to maintain her 4.0 GPA, volunteers at her church, and tries to stop her boyfriend from gambling away his trust fund on FanDuel. She also runs an Instagram account for her miniature schnauzer. She says she doesn’t see an easy way around the issue of redistricting. “This has been happening for like, ever. Someone has to draw the lines and there’s basically no way to guarantee that person won’t be biased.”

“Everyone is so divided.”

- Drew, 21, from Jacksonville, Fl.

Drew is a registered Republican, but his Tinder bio says he’s a moderate. He’s studying Economics and gets most of his news through Reels, Fox News, and Joe Rogan. Drew is always at the gym prepping for baseball season and needs AI to help him with his homework. He wishes we could all just drink some beers together and forget about this kind of stuff for a while. “You can’t do anything without somebody making it political.”

“It’s all about voter suppression.”

- Scarlett, 20, from San Francisco, Ca.

Scarlett is a registered Democrat studying Graphic Design who says she lowkey blew up on Tik-Tok by making Brat Kamala Harris edits. Scarlett gets most of her news from reposted infographics on her friend’s Instagram stories and Tik-Tok. Scarlett uses her free time to play Animal Crossing, plan dates for her girlfriend, and crochet colorful sweaters for her cat. She says that gerrymandering makes Democracy less accessible and doesn’t reflect what the people actually want from their government. “You should be able to earn your place in office fairly.”

“Gerry Mandering? He sounds like a pretty chill dude.”

- Jacob, 23, from Columbus, Oh. 

Jacob is a business student who doesn’t really follow politics, but says that we can always use more strong men in power. “I’d probably vote for him,” he shrugged “What’s he running for again?” Jacob is not registered to vote.