Chance Seales, Media General National Correspondent – ST. LOUIS (MEDIA GENERAL) – Leading up to the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday, students of the top-tier school fell largely into two categories: Clinton devotees and third-party diehards.
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There was very little overlap in the two groups.
Donald Trump, knee-deep in a scandal involving boasts about the ability to sexually assault women, didn't have any support to speak of on the student quadrangle.
In fact, he was depicted on handmade signs as a scary clown and pile of poop.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, had a sizable contingent of supporters, mostly female students.
But there wasn't overwhelming enthusiasm for the Democratic nominee, despite many conceding they will likely vote for her.
Those admissions, in keeping with some polls showing Clinton sinking below 50 percent among millennials, were made between sighs and grimaces.
"So I'm rooting for a giant meteor instead of Trump or Clinton, " junior Carter Durno said with a smirk.
Elizabeth Wagner, a freshman from Tennessee, held a Johnson-Weld sign and argued, "You already know about Clinton and Trump; they're the establishment. People like outsiders."
Other students like Ann Smithson, a junior, decided to eat their broccoli instead of indulging on the more appealing third-party candy.
"Jill Stein can't even pass a dead gorilla in the polls, so, I mean, compared to the awful alternative of Trump, I guess Hillary's what I have to go for," Smithson said, "but I'm not super excited about it, if I have to be honest."
Follow Chance Seales on Twitter: @ChanceSeales