By Alexa Rocourt
With the upcoming midterm election and her adamant belief in voter responsibility, 21-year-old Camille Torres is set on having her opinions heard in the polls in her hometown, Saint Petersburg, Florida.
Torres, a senior specializing in political science and international studies, places herself in environments that deepen her political awareness and contribution. She spent her summer working at The Blue Lab, a progressive campaign incubator in Boston, where she participated in campaigns for two female politicians, Tram Nguyen and Governor Councilor Eileen Duff. Torres advocates for an all-inclusive government and believes “a more representative democracy is a more just democracy.”
Torres was taught by her parents at a very young age to voice her opinions. “They have always been great about fostering an environment where I should care and allowed me to be an opinionated person,” she said. With such an engrained sense of political allegiance, she feels participation in the midterm election is important as it can personally effect citizens more than the presidential election.
“People forget that the President is not like a king or dictator; he doesn’t decide everything,” she said. Torres is concerned with selecting leaders that will
help bring about a well-rounded government. She specifically wants to vouch for representatives who see eye-to-eye with her on immigration and gun control.
“I feel like we haven’t gone forwards in a lot of ways during this term … and that scares me because I feel the next two cycles will be just be rebuilding and that puts us 12 years behind,” she said.
With the policy changes made to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), for example, she is afraid deportations will continue to increase if the administration feels the need to resist democratic efforts to save the fate of the program.
Torres feels strongly about promoting gun control and highly discourages the idea of allowing weapons in schools. Having witnessed shutdowns due to guns at her own high school, she remembers the terror of feeling vulnerable. “Thinking about teachers having a gun in their hands while also being panicked is a really scary thought for me,” she said.
Torres seeks to be governed by informed politicians who have a good basis and foundation and plans on making her vote count.
Advanced Reporting Times 