PHOTOS | College voters talk politics on primary day in South Carolina

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COLUMBIA, S.C — On Saturday morning, four Daily Pennsylvanian editors canvassed the University of South Carolina just hours before the Republican primaries in the state. We asked students how they felt about the current political atmosphere in this election cycle, and what issues mattered to them the most.

Photos by News Photo Editor Julio Sosa and Director of Online Projects Andrew Fischer. President Colin Henderson contributed reporting.

Katie McCarthy and Sean McDonagh (DePauw University)

Katie: "I think this election in particular has made that quite difficult. I think like there’s people that should be winning that aren’t winning. So, I don’t know, I just feel like voting doesn’t matter at this point.” 

Sean: "And especially like in certain states like Illinois is going to go Democratic, I mean my vote counts but my individual vote doesn’t matter.”

Ellory Moore and J.D. Hamilton
Ellory: “I’m just kind of open. I’m not really sure yet. I’m a Republican so it will be a Republican candidate but I don’t know.”

J.D.: “If [Trump] ended up being our candidate I would be really torn between voting for him and — I would not vote for Bernie Sanders, but I’d be torn about voting.”

Taylor Moore (left) and Baylor Matthews (right)
Taylor: “I’ve noticed that Trump, he says what he wants and I know young people like that a lot, and I personally don’t like him. But I don’t know, like as a senior in high school all of my friends are like 'go Trump, go Trump' and I’m like I really don’t understand, I don’t think he has a plan. I don’t like him."

Baylor: In the South, “Everybody wants to know who you’re voting for and everyone wants to tell you who they’re voting for.”

Sean Buckley (left) and Connor Shields (right)

Sean: "Well I guess it’s been pretty hectic because everyone’s fighting over each other about who’s the best and nobody can really pick and choose like the best I guess Republican would be the biggest deal right now. I mean it’s pretty much a Republican state so everybody’s choosing between Trump and Cruz and Rubio right now.”

Connor: “Oh, I mean it’s probably going Trump, campus-wise. I mean Trump’s had the biggest rallies and what not and seems to have the most student support.”

Michaela Selinga and Tyler Lynch 
Michaela: “I feel like social politics are pretty standard in our society. I feel like it would take a lot more to change our social policies than our fiscal policies.”
Tyler: "It is a much bigger topic of discussion than I’m used to back home [in Illinois]. Like usually everyone kind of like has their opinions and tries to stick to themselves. Down here it’s kind of more hey you should think what I think.”

Wilson Mosley

"I liked kind of in the old days when the police like, even though I wasn't alive then, when the police just had batons, they didn't really carry guns, they might hit you, but they can't kill you, but, even if they bug you, if they did something wrong, they would be accountable, and the person who was hurt can actually defend themselves. Now the guns take that away. And the gun control? I'm pretty mute [sic] on that point. I really don't have an opinion on that yet. I'm still thought processing that."