By RICHARD BUNNER

Tax fraud, sexual assault, racism—the list goes on and on. All of these subjects have been associated with the current president, Donald J. Trump. As a freshman, I will not be able to vote for quite some time, but I still will be greatly affected by the current and succeeding administrations for a long period of time. Although many accusations have arisen against the president, most with proof, a large number of people still strongly support him.

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump made many attacks towards his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. His primary target was the official emails that Clinton had sent via her private server. Although this was a momentous and immense scandal, many people chose to overlook the many flaws within Trump himself, including many sexual assault scandals and rumors of Russian meddling in the election. These same individuals also consider him to be one of the greatest presidents of the United States, deeming him a model patriot.

Amid all of these allegations and actions, my question is this: why should a man who allegedly assaults women and conspires with foreign countries be qualified to run our country? It seems that I am not the only one who shares these feelings as protests occur frequently both in the United States and in other countries. If the president of one country is strongly protested by people of other countries, perhaps there is something profoundly wrong with his leadership.

Another point of intense controversy among American citizens is the wall. Although illegal immigration is a paramount issue that demands a comprehensive solution, the nation deserves a better solution than a wall with a price tag well within the billions, which will ultimately fall upon American taxpayers. The proposition of the wall may make sense on the surface, but realistically it will not work. Remember the Great Wall of China? It is one of the largest walls ever built, yet the Tatars, Mongols and Manchus were still able to overcome it and invade China. The expansion of both modern technology and the American population should have produced a more affordable and effective form of border control.

Trump’s presidency also saw the expansion and surge of ICE enforcement and removal operation arrests, increasing by 42 percent within just the first eight months in office according to the Pew Research Center. Recently, it has been revealed that ICE has been keeping tabs on left-leaning protestors, primarily those who are anti-Trump. Moreover, ICE has received severe criticism due to released photos of migrant children that have been separated from their parents and held in detention cages like stray animals in a pound.

In the face of these surreal facts, my point is this: our current government is in a state of disrepair and requires immediate attention. As teenagers, we are in the hands of a government whose mindset is stuck in the past despite making decisions that will result in lasting effects on our future.