Ann Arbor, Michigan
CNN
—
Jade Gray’s nervous Democrats will soon get to the part they should be worried about. But graduating from college, surrounded by demonstrations and protests, was a full-circle moment worth cherishing.
“I wrote in my application that this is a campus with a rich history of protest, a rich history of social justice movements,” Gray said in an interview at the University of Michigan Student Union.
“It was on my application,” she repeated with a smile. “I’m proud that that’s the response on campus right now. The situation is dire and I’m not at all happy with what’s going on in the world, but I’m impressed with how people are responding. And I think we need to be empowered and inspired by that.”
Now, let’s move on to the worrying part.
Gray spoke to us along with fellow recent graduate Anushka Jalisatogi. They are co-chairs of the campus’ College Democrats, and the pro-Gaza encampment that has sprung up on campus in the last few weeks of school is a sign of serious political trouble in a state that President Joe Biden probably cannot afford to lose. I know it’s a sign.
“All roads to the White House run through Michigan,” Gray said. “Michigan State has a lot of opportunities, but I never thought I’d say this now. And I wish I hadn’t said this now. But I don’t know how Michigan State is going. I’m really concerned about what direction this is going.”
Jalisatogi plans to return to campus to enroll in law school in September and hopes there will be no encampment.
“Joe Biden has the ability to make sure that doesn’t happen,” she said. “And that starts with calling for a ceasefire to listen to the voices of student voters across the country.”
CNN
A sign at the University of Michigan encampment in May 2024.
Jalisatogi and Gray are part of a 2024 CNN project that aims to experience presidential campaigns through the eyes and experiences of voters who live in battleground states and are members of the voting blocs most likely to sway the outcome. Be a member.
Young voters were critical of Biden moving Michigan back to blue in 2020. Exit polls showed Biden won 61% of voters aged 18 to 29, compared to just 37% for Donald Trump. Young voters also helped Michigan Democrats score big wins in the 2022 midterm elections.
But our conversation revealed deeper issues with this group over Biden 2024 than we knew during our first visit with these voters in mid-November.
It was just weeks after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Campus activism criticizing Israel’s response and Biden’s handling of the crisis was in its infancy.
Campus activism is now a defining chapter for many young voters.
Summer Matkin, for example, was just laying the groundwork as a freshman when we first visited Wayne State last November. When we returned last week, she was at her home in suburban Detroit.
“It was stressful,” she said of adjusting to her first year of college.
Last fall, she expressed major concerns about the president’s age, but didn’t hesitate when asked who she would choose if the November vote were a rematch between Biden and Trump.
“I’m going for Biden,” she said in a November interview at Wayne State University’s computer gaming lounge.
This will be Matkin’s first presidential vote, and she was visibly excited while talking about it last fall. Are you excited yet?
“i doubt it.”
That’s because Matkin has more questions about Biden.
CNN
Summer Matkin speaks with John King in a Detroit suburb in May 2024.
“His age always affects how I feel about him,” she said. “No matter how much you mention Taylor Swift, you’ll never understand us. But what I think is that I think he handled everything badly when it came to Israel and Palestine. ”
Matkin remains leaning toward Biden because he can’t stand Trump returning to the White House. However, she is part of a lively conversation with her friends.
“We also considered going to a third party,” Matkin said. “Many in our generation are also considering moving to a third party. But I’m a little worried that it will split the vote and ultimately swing support back to Trump. , I don’t want that.”
Our group has seen some progress with Biden.
Maya Siegman, a student at Wayne State University, was likely Biden when we spoke in November. It’s definitely Biden, she’s saying now. However, her support was not overwhelming.
“His age is definitely still an obstacle,” Siegmann said in an interview from his home in suburban Detroit. “I still think there should be an age limit on politics in general. … I would vote for Biden. I think he’s not a bad choice for president.”
She is excited about her grades. But Siegman, who is Jewish, has a glimpse of the fear many Jewish students have over nationwide campus riots, and she is more than happy for the school year to end.
“It was scary. It was scary,” she said of this past semester. “The escalating situation on other campuses made me worry about my own campus.”
CNN
Maya Siegman works in a Detroit suburb in May 2024.
Wayne State was relatively uneventful. There have been small protests, and several times the Hillel organization on campus has been put on lockdown as a precaution when pro-Palestinian students have demonstrated in the student union, where the Jewish organization on campus has an office. There was.
Siegman told Us in November that she was excited to join the breakdance club. On her latest trip, she said she stopped a fundraiser for Palestinians because she feared the money would go to Hamas.
Siegman said when she asked the club leader about the event, he blocked her number.
Siegman said the same thing happened again when a Jewish student and former Hillel member was highly critical of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“She asked for unbiased evidence that Hamas is trying to exterminate the Jewish people,” Siegmann said. “I sent her the Hamas Charter. And she blocked me.”
Siegman’s father is Israeli, and she spends her summers there. But her staunch support for the Jewish state is separate from her views on the Israeli government, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I personally don’t agree with his methods,” she told Us. “I think he’s trying to prolong the war. … I think Israel should have a new prime minister.”
Like Siegman, Ibrahim Ghazal, a law student at Wayne State University, speaks with the nuance that is often missing when politicians discuss conflicts and campus protests.
Ghazal is of Palestinian descent and has distant relatives in Gaza. But he is no fan of Hamas and recognizes Israel’s right to respond to terrorism.
“We don’t want human rights violations,” Ghazal told us during a break from final work. “If you’re going to go to war, do it within the rule of law, within international law. That’s all people want. Nothing more.”
Our November visit came just five weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, but it was already clear that Biden’s standing among Michigan’s Arab and Muslim communities had declined significantly. Ta. Ghazal said the president’s predicament has now clearly worsened.
“What is he going to do to get our votes?” Ghazal asked. “In addition to sending unconditional aid to Israel in disregard of the human rights violations that have been continuously documented by international organizations and denying independent investigations and investigations into possible war crimes that have been committed and reported, prevent.
“That’s a problem. If President Biden values Palestinian lives, lives in Gaza, he will definitely allow an independent investigation and investigation. If Biden wants to get some votes, he needs to change course. There is.”
CNN
Ibrahim Ghazal speaks with John King in downtown Detroit in May 2024.
Ghazal said he is busy with school and doesn’t have time, but plans to research third-party presidential candidates over the summer. He says many of his friends are turning to third parties as well.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a conversation,” Ghazal said. “No one wants to vote for Biden.”
That sentiment was borne out in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary. Biden lost to the “non-commitment” option in the three Michigan communities with the largest numbers of Arab voters: Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck.
But Ghazal said he is not a fan of President Trump and understands that absenting himself or voting third party could help Michigan’s Republican nominee.
But he’s prepared to do so if he doesn’t see a major change from Biden.
“The only reason I didn’t close the door is because I think he still has the ability to change course,” Ghazal said.
Jalisaggi and Gray, who just graduated from the University of Michigan, became active Biden supporters in the fall, even though their terms as College Democrats are over and they have some reservations about Biden. I promise it will be.
Jalisatogi plans to return to Missouri for the summer. Gray already works for progressive groups in Michigan. They hope a break from campus protests and demonstrations will give young voters time and space to see the big picture.
CNN
A demonstrator holds a Palestinian flag as the Secretary of the Navy delivers remarks at the University of Michigan’s Spring 2024 Graduation Ceremony.
“For me, there is no other option,” Gray said. “Because I will never vote for someone who is in court right now, who incited a riot, who sent three extremists to the Supreme Court and took them away.” [abortion] First ever right. Who demonized the LGBTQ community, which I am a part of? …I know there are frustrations with Biden, and some of his decisions are inexcusable, but the reality is we need to vote for him. ”
But for now, emotions are raw.
“Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee in Gaza and across Palestine. They have been starved or killed,” Jalisatogi said.
“So I think it’s really up to the people to decide for themselves as to the president’s motives.”
