Gen Z's hopes for the Biden era

Reuters Videos
Updated

Their responses ranged from a focus on empathy to COVID and social justice.

Following is a selection of their responses, which have been edited for length and clarity:

17-year-old Elena Ashburn: "I have so many hopes for the next four years. First and foremost, I hope that we can crush the coronavirus or at least bring it to a space where we can go back to normal life. I would like to see a better vaccine rollout."

17-year-old Maryam Tourk: "I would hope that over the next four years we can start passing some significant legal reforms in order to get our country moving in a positive direction so that my friends and I can confidently say that we are proud to call America our home."

18-year-old Thanasi Dilos: "My hope for the next four years is that we start building an education system that really works for these younger digital first generations. COVID-19 has shown us that Zoom school isn't really effective and that the education system doesn't utilize the full power of technology when almost everything else in our lives do."

17-year-old Madison Adams: "I would say that my hope for the next four years is that we drastically change the way that we view civic engagement because participation in our democracy is so much more than just voting. Your role is to ensure flourishing in every single community that you're a part of."

20-year-old Christalyn Hill: "Health disparities. I feel like it's not put on the platform as widely as it should be - as known as it should be because people of color are dying at much higher rates than their white counterparts."

21-year-old Tyla Tolbert: "Our justice system can definitely do a little bit better. I hope that with Biden in office, he puts in some executive orders, start holding our law enforcement accountable for their actions and the things that they do to us."

16-year-old Noor Mryan: "My hopes for a Biden administration definitely include seeing more empathy. It's surprising how lacking it is in government, but for, for people to feel comfortable in their country, for people to feel represented I think that empathy is a critical part of that."