National polls currently show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump nearly neck and neck in the 2024 presidential election, but at Brooklyn Tech, the split does not seem so closely divided. The Survey recently polled Tech students and found that a 63.5% majority of respondents said they would vote for Harris.

For students who support Harris, a common concern is that minorities would be less safe under the Trump administration. LGBTQ+ and female students, in particular, feel that Harris would better protect them, especially as queer and reproductive rights have become such a turbulent issue in national politics. 

“I think a Trump administration would not only restrict my rights as a queer trans student from a policy level, but I think that it would encourage more hate, violence, and discrimination against all marginalized people,” said Sasha Pirozzi (‘27), in response to The Survey’s election poll. 

Others expressed that under a Harris-Walz administration they would feel more “comfortable and represented, safer and more welcome.”

Students are also concerned about Project 2025, a 920-page document published by a Republican think tank The Heritage Foundation, in conjunction with other right-wing groups. The document outlines a plan to cut taxes, decrease DOE funding, limit abortion access, deport illegal immigrants, and implement other far-right goals. 

A CNN report found that 140 current or former members of Trump’s administration are open contributors to the project. Russell Vought, the head of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget and a Project 2025 contributor, recently claimed that former President Trump is “very supportive of what [The Heritage Foundation] does,” contradicting Trump’s claims that he has had no involvement with Project 2025. 

“[Project 2025] directly say[s] that certain topics will not be discussed in education, including topics that would encourage diversity and equity,” explained Law and Society major Marlin Xie (‘25).  “Here at Brooklyn Tech, even on the wall behind you, there’s a clear sign that says LGBTQ+ safe space. Should that project be implemented under the Trump administration, I think it would definitely threaten what Brooklyn Tech stands for and what its community stands for.”

Donald Trump’s promise of severe immigration policies,  including the  mass deportation of millions of immigrants, also alarms many Tech students. 

“Brooklyn Tech is an immigrant school, we’ve always been an immigrant school,” observed Mr. McManamon who teaches history. “[Trump’s reelection] would have a chilling effect on them.” 

Ariel Segura (‘27) noted that leaders from the Democratic Party tend to support immigrants, saying, “Being the child of two immigrants is something that definitely encourages my siding with the blue simply because if it wasn’t for a little bit of blue [my parents] wouldn’t be here.”

Beyond policy disagreements, the question of character is also a factor in student perceptions of Trump, who was unanimously indicted by a New York jury with 34 felony counts this spring. He was found guilty of tampering with corporate record-keeping in order to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels, a porn star with whom he had an alleged sexual encounter. This is in addition to a defamation case with E. Jean Carrol that convicted him of sexual abuse. 

As a felon, Trump is no longer able to possess guns or be a public school teacher. Depending on his potential convictions in other ongoing trials, he may also not be able to vote in future presidential elections.  The irony is not lost on Segura. “It is a huge flaw in the constitution,” he noted. “When you are losing your voting right you are losing your voice in democracy, how are you going to be president [and] be the representative of our democracy?”

Trump’s felony convictions were unprecedented, spurring widespread debate on whether or not he should be allowed to run for President. 

“I don’t think the founding fathers anticipated…that this many people would support a felon running for president,” commented Xie.

While all 34 counts were charged under New York State law, and not eligible for presidential pardons, the question of whether presidents enjoy immunity from prosecution while in office could trigger a constitutional crisis after a Supreme Court ruled affirmatively on the matter back in July.

“It feels so unreal that we’re letting someone with Trump’s status rerun for president,” wrote one anonymous poll respondent. “The constitution feels like it was tailored to have a president like Trump.”

If elected, Trump could shut down Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions over January 6th and stolen documents, or issue a presidential pardon over some of his own cases, absolving him of any legal consequences for his actions. 

“If that is not a complete violation of the idea that no one is above the law I don’t know what else would be,” said Xie.

Mr. McManamon agreed that self-pardoning is problematic. “It’s the end of accountability,” he said. “There’s no checks and balances anymore if he can do these things. I was very young when Nixon went down, and that was when the system worked and there was accountability. You cannot just go around and do whatever you want. A president is not a king.”

Trump has burnished his heroic image by projecting strength during two assassination attempts this spring. On July 13th, eight shots were fired at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring Trump with a bullet to the ear and killing two bystanders, resulting in a now-iconic photo of him bloodied but shaking a defiant fist to the crowd. 

The shooter was Thomas Crook, a registered Republican, using a firearm he purchased legally. 

Xie expressed frustration about the irony of these events considering Trump’s pro-gun policies. “I think that it’s ridiculous how Trump and JD Vance are allowed to have bulletproof glass around them when they give speeches, but don’t do anything to reduce the prevalence of guns in this country when there are shootings happening quite literally every single day,” said Xie.

Mr. McManamon commented on the recent prevalence of gun violence, saying, “There’s ready access to guns. People have the weapons and can do these things in a way that they just didn’t as much years ago. People have access and political grievances, and Donald Trump is a divisive person.”

Tech students in The Survey’s poll feel that Trump’s policies do not align with their hope for stricter gun control, as they worry about gun violence in an era when school shootings have become an increasingly common occurrence. 

Although 34.6% of Tech students said they would vote for Trump, few offered specific reasons. A single student wrote that they worried about higher prices under a Harris economy, which would be a struggle for Tech students, more than 60% of whom come from low income households. 

While most Tech students will not be eligible to vote on November 5, they are aware of the issues, and the stakes, and are staying informed, but they also seem to have made up their minds.

“Brooklyn Tech is a very political school and I think that that has definitely boosted my beliefs and led me to develop my own opinions about [the election],” said Segura.