As 2020 is a presidential election year, Americans are currently preparing to complete their civic duty by voting. Throughout this time, there is often one group of people who are overlooked: international students. These foreign students play a different role during election season. In the midst of this presidential election period, the perspective of foreigners who lack citizenship is represented by the international students in the NDB community.

“I don’t feel like I have any rights. First of all, I’m not an American citizen, and I’m not old enough to vote. So I guess I just watch the debate and just talk to my friends,” said junior Selina Hao, a Chinese international student.

NDB senior Aletta Chen, an international student from China, also shared her thoughts on how she feels about the election. “California is fairly democratic. So, I think I’m pretty influenced by the circumstances here and also my identity as an international student.”

Although international students are not able to vote, they still hold opinions on American politics and how it compares to their home country’s political system.

“For me, personally, [the voting system] is different because in China, people don’t directly participate in voting,” said Chen. “I think some people don’t like it. I think they think that’s not democratic.”

Only a minority of people are allowed to vote in the election in China. The National People’s Congress (NPC) on the nomination of the Presidium of the NPC can vote for the presidential election.

“I think it’s more active here in America. People really engaging in politics is very different,” Chen added. “People are posting on Instagram, or other social media. I just think, how they participate and how they are really into it, it felt as I never felt in China, cause it’s not our thing, it’s not what we need to be concerned about.”

“The local citizens are passionate about asking each other to vote. When I go to the mall or buy stuff online, everywhere seems to advertise posts related to the presidential election. It is different because I don’t think people in China would be this passionate about voting,” said NDB Senior Rachel Li, another international student from China. “[If I could vote] I would not vote for anyone. Because I don’t really want to be involved in politics. No matter who becomes the president, they would bring both advantages and disadvantages.”

A few months ago, the Trump administration proposed the rule that international students could not stay in the U.S if they were taking fully online courses. Although the rule is now rescinded, some international students are still concerned about their education in America.

“For this election, I will probably vote for Joe Biden because Trump has already established the rule that is violating the international students’ education. I am worried that it will affect my study in the United States,” said NDB sophomore Anna Lin, an international student from China. “I’m also worried about other international students because they might have to be forced to leave the United States. So I want to vote for Biden to prevent similar things from happening again.”

“I think the future president should take action into gender equality, racial equality and global warming,” said Lin.

During this election year, NDB’s international students bring an outsider’s view to the community as a sign of diversity.