The Wire’s Editorial Board endorses Joe Biden for president. This endorsement is limited to the members of the Board, though we expect that many of the students, faculty and staff at Whitman College will similarly vote blue by Nov. 3.

In the past seven months, Trump has willfully allowed 222,000 Americans to die of COVID-19. Many Americans have lost friends or family because of Trump’s lies. 

As stated in our editorial on June 3, 2020, the Wire strives to be anti-racist and anti-fascist. Our publication maintains that Black lives matter and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. As journalists we believe in truth and accountability, concepts which are antithetical to the Trump presidency. 

We acknowledge that in this country voting is a privilege, and our government relies and thrives on the suppression of minority voices. However, the majority of Whitman students have the privilege to vote, and it is our responsibility to use that privilege for the betterment of society. Disenfranchised Americans have been fighting for the right to vote for hundreds of years. To throw it away, either by voting third party or not voting, is shortsighted and insulting. 

As current Managing Editor Mat Chapin stated in her opinion piece, “Biden is better than Trump,” Joe Biden is not an ideal candidate by any means, but we believe that our personal frustrations with the Democratic Party are not as important as the lives of Americans who will suffer under four more years of a Trump Presidency.  

After the election we hope to continue to push Biden and the country towards more progressive policy making on issues of healthcare, student debt, housing, education, climate change, law enforcement, supporting and uplifting marginalized communities and more. But none of those conversations will be possible if we allow Donald Trump and his supporters to drag this country further into fascism. 

Make your voice heard.

Signed:

Alasdair Padman, Editor-in-Chief

Ella Meyers, Publisher

Mat Chapin, Managing Editor

Nicole Huh, Advertising Manager

Renny Acheson, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Allie Cohen, Chief Copy Editor

Dana Walden, Opinion Editor

Carson Jones, Photography Editor

Madeline Kemp, Humor Editor

Sean Gannon, News Editor

Emma Fletcher-Frazer, News Editor

Charlotte Elliott, Sports Editor

Annie Means, Podcast Coordinator

Michelle Shin, Web Editor

Hannah Paul, Illustration Editor