Aya Elamroussi

Aya Elamroussi began wearing a hijab when she was 16 years old, in part because she didn’t like the way men were looking at her.

“I was constantly looked at, ‘Oh, she’s pretty, she has a pretty face, she has pretty hair.’ And to be honest, I did not like that at all,” Elamroussi said.

At the time, her parents were concerned about her decision. But Elamroussi says there was no immediate problem until the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Orlando, Florida.

“I would see backlash from people in the street saying hateful things,” she says.

But Elamroussi, a journalism student at American University in Washington, D.C., and a VOA news intern, says she understands why some Americans, particularly anyone who has never met a Muslim, may believe negative stereotypes.

“I understand why you may feel that way. I understand because where would you get a positive idea about when all you see is negative?” she asks.

She says mainstream media has a lasting impact on history, which can be both good and bad. In the case of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, she says he has skillfully played the mainstream media to his advantage.

“If money is what the company is looking for, then you will always chase whomever is saying the most dramatic thing,” Elamroussi says.

Elamroussi believes Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is the only viable candidate remaining. But like many liberal millennials, her source of motivation derives less from excitement and more out of fear of a Trump presidency.

“It’s not exciting for first-time voters, because we don’t have much choice,” she says.

Elamroussi doesn’t believe Trump is racist but is concerned that his rhetoric — and what she describes as lack of social responsibility — can spark violence among his most ardent supporters.

5. Refugees. “It’s not surprising to me that government officials are turning a blind eye. We saw how America did the same thing with Holocaust. Can we do better? Yes. But, will we? Probably not, because America is already suffering with having to tolerate Muslim-Americans who have been living here for decades. It’s unreasonable to expect Americans to be okay with Syrian refugees given the sentiment toward Muslims in the U.S.”

4. Education. “Tuition increases every year due to ‘inflation.’ Yet, inflation isn’t happening nor are the salaries increasing to combat that increase.”

3. Economy. “The unemployment rate right now is good. However, I wonder if making labor markets less flexible would enable people not in the labor force to get a job. The idea here is that maybe employers should be faced with greater burdens like having to pay bigger severance packages so employers don’t fire employees easily, and possibly stricter laws against laying people off.”

2. Gun control. “I understand that people may feel the need for guns if they feel like police forces may not protect them from a certain danger. However, people don’t need guns that can commit a massacre in less than 10 minutes. The issue with gun control isn’t whether citizens should have them at all, but it’s what kind of guns are we availing the people and what purpose/ function should these guns serve.”

1. Criminal justice. “I can’t believe this is my number one issue, but it is. It’s unbelievable because I knew that systematic racism exists, but with the Brock Turner case [former Stanford University swimmer who was given a six-month sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman], I saw an actual proof that being rich and white literally gives one a free pass to break the law and get away with it. And, that’s only one case. Who knows what else happens that doesn’t get media attention?”

In light of recent cases of police brutality and misconduct, Elamroussi says criminal justice reform is the most important issue for her this election.

“There’s a glaringly obvious issue with the criminal justice system due to recent cases such as the Brock Turner case [former Stanford University swimmer who was given a six-month sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman] and police brutality,” Elamroussi said. “Something as basic as getting a fair sentence when breaking the law is next to impossible if a white person is the man in question.”

As a young voter, Elamroussi says she wants to see her next president lay out a specific agenda on these issues in a way that will affect her on a personal level.

“I want to feel that if I am put in the shoes of the hundreds of girls who get raped, that I will have a justice system that will stand by me and support me,” she says.

Elamroussi says America suffers from xenophobia — and argues that it won’t go away by denying it. “There’s an international relations theory that argues people’s identities and beliefs are the reasons why people go to war. Well, I believe this theory applies right here in our backyard,” she adds.