This year’s Presidential Election has so far dominated the news, social media, and our own minds, and it’s only tightening its grip. With only a few short weeks until Election Day, the entire country is waiting with bated breath to see which famous figure will be our next President. Even though this topic has gotten insane levels of exposure, the major issues that these candidates are fighting for are getting lost in the hype and drama. Therefore, millions of people who will be voting on November 8th have absolutely no idea on where each of the candidates stand on major political topics, nor do they even know what those topics are. I’m here to rectify that problem (even if just for our own community)  and to present to you three of the top political issues today, and where both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton stand on each one. (For the record, I won’t be discussing the views of Gary Johnson, for obvious reasons. If you just thought “Who’s that?” you proved my point.)

Issue #1: Immigration

Trump- We all know Donald Trump wants to “build a wall between us and Mexico” and “have Mexico pay for that wall,” but the issue is more complicated than just a soundbyte and a good laugh. Trump’s vision is to restore immigration numbers “back to historical norms” and detain illegal immigrants (people who bypassed the immigration process), until he can remove them from our country and have them deported back to their country of origin. He plans to destroy policies set up by President Obama and reform immigration laws to “serve the American working class”.

Clinton- Hillary Clinton stands for “full and equal citizenship”, and wants to embrace the various cultures that live in America (we are the world’s “Melting Pot,” after all). She wants to end three- and ten-year bars (which make people leave the country to pursue a green card, yet prevents former illegals from re-entering the country. Three- and ten-year bars essentially put illegals in a Catch 22.), and she wants to promote naturalization (which gives immigrants outreach and support. They would learn English proficiency, have help getting into the country, and have education and jobs found for them.) Clinton would protect the policies set up by President Obama, which use federal funding to give out support (services, money, etc.) to US immigrants.

Issue #2: Education

Trump- At the Republican convention, Donald Trump made a single statement on the topic of education. He said that “We will rescue kids from failing schools by helping their parents send them to a safe school of their choice.” He believes in the power that a full education has on a child, saying “If we can put a man on the moon, dig out the Panama Canal and win two world wars, then I have no doubt that we as a nation can provide school choice to every disadvantaged child in America.” He also wants to dissolve Common Core and give the power of education back to the county level. He also said that he “may cut Department of Education,” which would give power of education to the state and local levels.

Clinton- While Donald Trump has put his focus into K-12 education, Hillary Clinton has put most of her efforts in college-level education. Similar to former rival Bernie Sanders, Hillary supports “debt-free college” for lower and middle-class students, using government funding instead of student tuition. She is an advocate for the college student, even though there is a lot of skepticism about the student loan debt crisis, and whether it actually exists.

Issue #3: Terrorism

Trump- Trump stands for the complete annihilation of major terrorist organizations, and like many, is turning his attention to the Middle East (more specifically, ISIS). Donald is a major opposer of the Iran Deal (the ending of economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for some restrictions on its nuclear program), saying that this “disgraceful deal gives Iran a lot and gets nothing for us.” He hasn’t said much on his plan to defeat ISIS, but he has said that he plans to strike ISIS financially, saying that we should “dry up their oil and their money.” He continues to strongly oppose the Iraq War of 2004, though he is pro-military. He believes that the invasion of Iraq was done incorrectly, and he would reform the path that our military takes towards defeating ISIS.

Clinton- Hillary, like Trump, has her focus on ISIS when it comes to combating terrorism. Having been Secretary of State, Clinton has been a part of the influence and decision-making when it came to ISIS. She wanted to arm Syrian rebels who were against ISIS in 2014, but Obama turned that down. She still believes that we should have done more to help them. Her biggest mistake, however (in her words), was voting “Yes” on the Iraq War in 2002. She has taken ownership of this decision, and admitted it was a mistake. Her main focus, though, is not on ISIS’s control and wealth, but its leaders. Hillary would instead want to deploy troops to locate and assassinate major leaders of ISIS. While her opponents believe this would be lengthy, expensive, and dangerous, Clinton strongly believes that this would generate the best results, and pay off in the long run.

Now that you are further informed (and if you aren’t, my bad), you can make an informed decision and support one (or neither) of the candidates. Even if you can’t vote, you’re still part of the buzz, and it still affects you as an American citizen. Feel free to discuss, debate, and decide, because all eyes will be on one place November 8th: The White House.