On Nov. 4, a large number of Geneseo students went to the polls to vote for the next presidential candidate and for many, the election was their first time closing the curtain.
Students were excited to exercise their right to vote for various reasons.
"I found it important to vote because either way, this election was going to make history and I wanted to be a part of it," said junior Caitlin Mihalic.
Junior Joey Sinchak also expressed his support of voting. "[It] is one of the most fundamental expressions of political power that we have in our voting system and it's the role of each individual to exercise that right and that's what I did today," he said. "Being an 'average Joe' myself, I appreciate being the subject matter of every political debate in this years election."
Ashley Mervine, a sophomore voting for the first time, found performing her civic duty enjoyable.
"It was exciting and memorable," Mervine said. "It was like riding a bike. I'll never forget how to do it."
Since the Town of Geneseo's recent swing blue, student influence has been evident and students cited that as an encouragement factor.
"Geneseo now has a majority of Democrats because of the college students … [That] proves that every vote really does count so I felt like my vote really did carry a lot of weight," said Mihalic.
Despite news coverage of staggeringly long lines at polling places nationwide, Geneseo's small size allowed for a less stressful election day. Many students had an overall positive experience at the polls.
"It was really easy to get to the polls because they had signs up everywhere pointing you in the right direction," said Mihalic. "I voted on Franklin Street and it was not crowded at all and they gave out stickers and lollipops, which was exciting."
"The ladies at the Interfaith Center were very informative and energetic. I got a cool sticker too," said Sinchak. The Interfaith Center had more voter turnout than expected and ran out of "I Voted" stickers around 5 p.m.
Student group Think Globally, Vote Locally was successful at encouraging Geneseo students to register and vote, registering over 700 new voters through their system.
Student voters' first experiences seem to have paved the way for a turnout at polls in the future.
"It's something I would definitely do again in four years," said Mervine.