We see them everyday. We roll our eyes. We internally cheer. But do we think about they say about our campus?

Bumper stickers take confidence. People have to decide whether the candidate they support deserves permanence. Bumper stickers do the talking that we won’t have with each other. The conversation a person would hear looking into the student parking lot this year flows differently than last year. A parking lot that used to contain massive trucks with Trump stickers and Confederate flags now stands almost mute. A strong group of supporters proudly bear Hillary stickers. Fewer but still some boast Trump stickers. Many are sick of bumper stickers all together.

Hillary Bumper Stickers:

Libby Cohen (‘17):

Who does your bumper sticker support?

A: My bumper sticker supports Hillary Clinton.

When did you feel confident enough to put the bumper sticker on your car?

A: I felt confident enough to put it on my car when I knew she was going to become the next president.

How do you hope your bumper sticker affects other people on the road?

A: Because we live in such a conservative area, I hope it makes people realize that everybody is not going to vote for Donald Trump and everyone has a right to voice their opinions.

How do derogatory bumper stickers about your candidate make you feel?

A: Derogatory bumper stickers about Hillary Clinton make me feel even more proud to support her. Despite all of the hateful words people say about her, she never quits and when she is President she will not give up on the American people.

Do you have any other merchandise supporting your candidate?

A: Along with my bumper sticker, I have a yard sign in my front yard and many stickers supporting Hillary Clinton.

Do you volunteer or do any other work to support your candidate?

A: I work for the Florida Democratic Party in their Fellowship program and I am trying to make a difference by doing this. Working for the campaign and supporting Hillary has impacted me and it has made me realize I might want to study politics in college.

Josh Weiss (‘18):

Who does your bumper sticker support?

A: Hillary Clinton.

When did you feel confident enough to put the bumper sticker on your car?

A: I’m not sure if it was ever a question of confidence or not, but more waiting for the primaries to end to see who the nominated candidate was.

How do you hope your bumper sticker affects other people on the road?

A: Hopefully It encourages them to think about the race and voting for Hillary Clinton.

How do derogatory bumper stickers about your candidate make you feel?

A: I’m not desperately upset about them considering I find derogatory bumper stickers about Donald Trump funny. So, it would be a bit of a double standard if I took offense to the ones directed at Clinton. Plus they’re just a part of the game that is the campaign, nothing too important to get upset over.

Do you feel that the political climate of this particular election have affected why you bought a bumper sticker?

A: I don’t think the political climate has greatly affected me getting a bumper sticker because I get to show support for Clinton and probably would have no matter how intense the race is.

Do you volunteer or do any other work to support your candidate?

A: I do volunteer for the campaign, recently a couple members of the Young Democrats (Club) and I all went and phone banked for the Clinton campaign.

How do you feel supporting your candidate in a city like Jacksonville?

A: I feel great supporting my candidate in Jacksonville. There is a strong block of us Democrats and hopefully we can see a successful Clinton presidency.

Alexandra Bishop (‘18):

Q: Which candidate do you support with your bumper sticker?

A: I support Hillary Clinton.

Q: Have you always supported Hillary Clinton?

A: No, I was originally a big Bernie Sanders fan. And for the longest time, I had a “Feel the Bern” bumper sticker on my car, but now I have a “Hillary Clinton for 2016.”

Q: How quickly did you get your Bernie bumper sticker?

A: I think I got it in May, and it’s been on my car all summer. And then right when Hillary got the nomination, I switched it to show my support.

Q: Why did you feel it was important to switch after Bernie lost the nomination?

A: I think he impacted the nomination a lot, so I was really happy with all of his views. But as a political party, as a Democrat myself, it’s important to stick by the campaign. I mean, Hillary is our best option, the option that we want for president that we want.

Q: Are bumper stickers the only way that you’ve shown support for your candidate?

A: No, I actually work with the Hillary campaign in Florida. I put up yard signs in front of my house. My mom has a bumper sticker, as well. We like Hillary.

Q: Have you always been from a family that uses bumper stickers, or do you typically not care for them?

A: No, usually we don’t. This was out of the blue. And it’s actually a magnet. My parents don’t like me putting anything permanent on my car.

Q: Is that the only type of merchandise that you have for the Hillary campaign?

A: No, I also have a tee-shirt and some stickers for water bottles and some signs and posters.

Q: As a Hillary supporter in our specific environment, we tend to see a lot of negative stickers about her. How do you feel when you see the opposing candidates stickers on the road?

A: It’s not so much seeing Trump for 2016, that like okay you’re expressing your views. When it’s Hillary for Prison I think that’s just going a little overboard. You’re really creating so much negative attitude and emotions towards another candidate, and it’s not very classy and sophisticated. I think it brings a bad light to the election itself. I think you should support your candidate and bashing other candidates is not appropriate.

Q: How have you felt about the climate of the campaign? Has it affected why you felt the need to buy a bumper sticker?

A: I think definitely. Especially as a female, especially as a 16-year-old female, I think it’s important to show that I support Hillary and that I do not approve of the messages Trump has been saying. I also support Hillary for her policies. I really agree with a lot of that. And I want people to know that I am proud to be a Democrat, and I’m proud to support Hillary, and I’m going to do everything I can to get her elected.

Anti-Bumper Stickers with Leah Bayat, Sadie Butler, Sarah Baker, and Rebecca Dewees (and Kayla Fender):

Q: Why do you guys not like political bumper stickers?

Sadie: They’re trashy.

Leah: They force people’s opinions upon you.

Sarah: I didn’t ask for their opinions, why do I want to read them?

Q: Is it specific types of political bumper stickers or any of them?

Sarah: Any of them. I don’t care what size they are or if they agree with me or not.

Sadie: They look dumb.

Q: Why do they look dumb?

Sadie: If I’m stuck in traffic and I’m just like looking at these cars in front of me, I don’t need to know what your political opinions is. I don’t care, I don’t want to know.

Sarah: Political views should be individual views that you keep with yourself and not try to publicize them to everybody else.

Sadie: I didn’t ask, so I don’t want to know.

Rebecca: And sometimes they’re really demeaning. I personally believe that President Obama is one of the most disrespected presidents, and people are so rude.

Q: Is it annoying, but fine if it’s an “H” or a “Trump/Pence” sticker, but when it’s something nasty is it especially bad?

Sadie: They’re worse if they’re mean. I think it’s really funny though when people have Reagan bumper stickers.

Rebecca: Or when they have Romney bumper stickers, I’m like get over it.

Kayla: Or Bernie Sanders bumper stickers like I’m sorry that your guy lost the nomination or Rubio or Cruz.

Q: When is the time to take them off your car?

Sarah: When you’re within six months of when your guys left the election.

Q: So are they basically the Christmas lights of politics?

Everyone: Yes.

Sarah: I think by inauguration maybe if your candidate didn’t win then that’s a good time to take it off.

Q: Do you think even if your candidate has won, people should take them off after inauguration?

Sarah: I do, actually.

Q: Do you think they actually sway anyone’s opinions?

Everyone: No.

Sarah: I think they’re pointless overall.

Trump Bumper Stickers:

Justin Wolter (‘17):

Q: Why do you support Trump?

A: I support Donald trump because he isn’t a normal politician. I like the way that he is able and willing to speak his mind even if some of the things he says have a bad connotation. His stance on issues are ones that I can get behind, and I believe that he gets a lot of flak for simply having an unrefined character, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Q: Do you have any merchandise supporting Trump?

A: I have a Donald trump t-shirt at the moment and have ordered a few bumper stickers that are probably on their way.

Q: How active you been in the campaign process?

A: I watch the debates and some of the speeches.

Q: How did you react to recent revelations about Trump like the Access Hollywood videos?

A: The access Hollywood tapes are generally to be expected of almost any big rich celebrity player. Before putting in his bid for president, Donald Trump was a celebrity as well as a businessman. I feel like the tapes were just a reflection of the celebrity persona of Trump. I don’t think it should be called a shocking revelation about what kind of man that he is, but rather be taken as a reflection of the hotshot celebrity persona that trump portrayed in the 2000s and 90s while hosting the Apprentice and gaining popularity in the entertainment world by his edgy antics.

Q: How do you react to people who challenge you about Trump, are you proud to support him in public?

A: I don’t have a problem with people challenging any belief. I don’t mind supporting Trump, but it is unsettling to see how many people act violently against people who support Trump and the sheer triggering effect that Trump has on certain groups of people.

Q: Do you feel like Trump represents the Republican Party?

A: I feel Trump represents Republicans in the sense that his policies and platform do reflect that of a traditional Republican candidate. Based on the issues, I think he falls within the bounds of the Republican Party.

Q: How do you feel Trump has attacked or bolstered the democratic process of the election like accusations of voter fraud?

A: I think that voter fraud could be a real thing potentially in every election. With the rise in some places with electronic voting and the mishandling of ballots, I think a lot can go wrong in tallying up the vote that could actually have an effect on the election. Bringing up voter fraud could be an encouragement to make sure it won’t happen.

Q: How do you feel about derogatory bumper stickers about Hillary like Hillary for Prison? Are they democratic?

A: I don’t ever see how you could pin an argument against the derogatory Hillary stickers as being “undemocratic”. It is a freedom of speech expressed in that way. I think there is some truth in the accusations against Hillary for breaking the law that have been brushed over.

Q: What do you think is next for the Republican Party?

A: Next for the Republican Party would depend on the results of the election, but most likely will involve some restructuring in the leadership and selection process for candidates. I don’t want to say that I support the sexist racist things that he says, but I don’t think that a person who says mean things shouldn’t be hated more than someone who breaks the law of the country she wants to lead.

Alexander Kostandarithes (‘17):

Q: You’re the president of the Young Republicans Club, right?

A: That is correct.

Q: Do you know if any of the members of the Young Republicans Club have Trump bumper stickers?

A: To the best of my knowledge, I don’t know about them.

Q: What has it been like in the Young Republicans Club during this election? Do you all support Trump or is it mixed?

A: It’s kind of mixed. Some people are more enthusiastic that I’ve talked to and others just don’t care that much. It just depends on the person and how politically charged they are and how much they love politics.

Q: How do you feel about the election?

A: You know, it’s an interesting one. The ratings have shown that this is one of the lowest in terms of popularity. In my opinion, you can argue for both sides. However, I tend to lean toward Republican. For one, my family has been Republican and I continue the same tradition.

Q: Many long time Republicans have stated that they will support Hillary, how do you feel about that?

A: I mean if you look at what’s happened with the WikiLeaks at the DNC, if you take a good look at the information that they’re exchanging, you can see that there’s a high level of corruption going on and for me that’s a reason to keep my vote with Trump. I don’t buy into a lot of the stuff he says like “Make America Great Again” and his character, but seeing what the other side has to offer, I think what Trump is offering is not as worse as what the other side is going to be offering us in the White House.

Q: Since the second debate Trump has come out a lot about potential voter fraud. He has stated that 1.8 million dead people will be voting despite the fact that that number represents the number of previously registered voters who have passed on. Do you think that Trump questioning the legitimacy of the election in America can be detrimental?

A: I mean, maybe like the dead people isn’t exactly right, but I do think that there have been allegations in the past that Democrats have been trucking in illegals and trying to get them to vote. When the idea of voter I.D. is brought up, usually Republicans support it but Democrats don’t. So I guess in some way, the way he’s questioning it is not right, but it is an issue that should be brought up.

Q: Given how strong the sentiment about Trump seems to be, why do you think that there is not as much support shown through bumper stickers among students this year?

A: For students, I think a lot of them can’t vote. So for them they think well I can’t vote so it’s not a big deal. But I can tell you outside the school I did work for a political campaign this summer for a Republican candidate, and a lot of areas I went like Callahan, Florida which is more rural, there is a lot of Trump signs, stickers, and support out there. I mean it’s kind of hard on this campus because it’s most students. Like there is Trump support out there and strong one too.

Q: Do you think bumper stickers are important?

A: For advertising purposes, I don’t think they’re going to shift people’s opinions. I mean people know the candidates because they’re in the news constantly. It’s more of a source of pride for people to say you know I’m Trump 2016 or I’m ready for Hillary.

Q: Why do you think in our conservative environment, Hillary fans might be more inclined to have bumper stickers?

A: With Hillary, I think some people might think it’s more acceptable to openly support because Trump has made some comments about women and made comments about Mexicans. I mean personally I don’t agree with that, but it is kind of hard to openly support because a lot of people who don’t like him can bring those points up and it isn’t something I’m going to defend. In that sense, people can support Hillary openly because she hasn’t said something outrageous like that. Now of course, there is other things, but given people’s attitudes and given what people seem to think today, it is more acceptable to openly support Hillary than Trump.

Q: Do you own any Trump merchandise?

A: No, I only own one bumper sticker that I got for free.

Q: How do you think extreme stickers that fire up a group of people over the idea of jailing the opposing candidate affect the democratic process?

A: Well, it is true if any of us did what Hillary Clinton did with the wiping of her server and trying to destroy evidence when it had been subpoenaed, we would be in jail. However, I don’t agree with the fact that Trump is going to set up a special court to try her, that is not democratic that is just vengeance. So I don’t agree with just putting someone in jail just because you feel like it. As much as I don’t like the FBI’s decision, they are the law of the land, if they say no it means no regardless of what I feel about it.

Q: Do you think bumper stickers even indicate the political climate of a campus?

A: I know many people are not very open about their political views, I got a lot of this this summer. I’d block walk to people, and I’d say hey can you support a candidate and they’d be like yeah sure and I’d say if do you want to put up a sign and they’d say I would prefer not to do that. I think a lot of people do have strong feelings, but they don’t want to share them publicly. Not a campus is different since it’s mostly people who are not of voting age, but I wouldn’t say that not seeing any means that there’s little support about any of the candidates.