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Marywood University’s Campus Ministry is hosting a labyrinth walk

Young people do not like Republicans; the presidential debate on Oct. 28 proved it.In 2014, half of all millennials ages 18 to 33 were registered as independent voters. I, like many of my classmates, am an independent voter.Among the 50 percent, 44 percent of independent voters were found to lean toward the left on most issues. While young people might not agree with the views the right-wing party posts, it&#8217;s not the politics that scares them away. The Republican Party does not try to engage with young voters.Young people do not respect meaningless conflict. When candidates begin talking over each other and interrupting moderators, young voters see middle school children bullying each other on the bus. The first question of the debate was aimed at a handful of the candidates: &#8220;What do you consider to be your greatest weakness?&#8221; Hearing their answers, I automatically lost respect for the candidates. Ohio Gov. John Kasich avoided the question completely and started preaching about his campaign. That wasn&#8217;t fooling anyone. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee stated, &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any weaknesses that I can think of.&#8221; The knee-jerk answer did not sit well with my classmates and me.Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (who has since dropped out of the race) stated he must be &#8220;the last American who doesn&#8217;t have an iPhone&#8221; and that he doesn&#8217;t use social media. To young people, this just shows that he is stubborn and not interested in investing in the future, something every young person is worried about.As a whole, it might seem that independent voters think very critically of all the candidates, Democrats and Republicans alike. However, I can chalk up this assumption to one bite-sized statement: We are in a time of economic and social crisis, we have a right to be critical.According to The Council of Economic Advisers in the White House, millennials represent one-third of the U.S. population. That fact should hold weight in who the candidates target in their campaigns.Nationwide, the graduating class of 2016 is just under $70 billion in debt. That is double the amount of debt, including the inflation factor, from 2011. Student loan debt alone affects marriage, location, family size and the division of classes, which strongly affects who young people vote for.We need to weed through the candidates with a fine-tooth comb, because we need a near-perfect, just and fair candidate to stabilize the economy for these crucial years of our lives.Gabby GlinskiLaporte TownshipSullivan County

Letter to the Editor: GOP presidential field falls flat for millennials, writer says