Presidential elections have been explosive subjects in the past two decades and this year’s election is proving to be a powder keg once more.

The Republican Party began with over a dozen sticks of dynamite but Donald Trump has emerged as a nuclear force in the polls.

Meanwhile on the Democrat’s side Bernie Sanders’ campaign is trading blows with Hillary Clinton’s.

Trump’s success in both New Hampshire and South Carolina virtually erase Ted Cruz’ early win in Iowa.

The Democratic nomination has underdog and campaign reform activist Sanders putting up a decent fight against the political power of the Clinton campaign.

With Clinton and Sander’s near tie in Iowa and Clinton’s win in Nevada, Sanders has still exceeded expectations especially by capturing the vote in New Hampshire, leaving the two candidates in somewhat of a deadlock.

The nation is divided between two parties as always but division within parties has also emerged in this election.

The numerous Republican candidates and the heated battle between Sanders and Clinton are both evidence to this fact.

Linfield students find themselves amongst this conflict as a crucial part of the voting population: the youth vote.

Sophomore Hannah Roberts weighed in with her perspective on the election.

“I’m a strong supporter of election reform, so I’m currently a Bernie Sanders supporter. But I also think Hillary Clinton has a lot of great foreign policy experience and is an equally valid candidate,” Roberts said. “I’ll vote for whichever one wins the nomination.”

Despite the liberal leaning state of Oregon there are opinions on Linfield’s campus that are more conservative.

Picking a candidate from the field of Republicans may seem a daunting task.

One student, who prefers to remain nameless, illustrated their method through the madness.

“It’s tough to say when there are so many options. At this point, as crazy as it sounds, I think I’m leaning towards the guy who continues to win all these states, so Trump is who I’d pick,” they said.

“I think a lot of [the Republican’s] campaign strategies are rooted in fear based manipulative rhetoric with few actually proposed solutions,” Roberts said.

From the conservative side of the argument both of the Democratic frontrunners have their flaws as well.

“Hillary’s strengths are in her experience and knowledge but her corruption is a weakness that scares me,” one student said.

“I respect and admire Bernie’s longevity in fighting for equality but his radical ideas and constant use of the word ‘socialism’ throughout his campaign, I think, only weaken his chances.”

Students at Linfield are undeniably absorbed into the issues of presidential campaigns through media and face-to-face interactions but despite differing opinions students are capable of reasonable discussion.

Once the candidates are done hurling political bombs it will be interesting to see who emerges as the next president of the United States.