Despite our individual political convictions, the editorial board of the Fordham Observer holds the collective vision of a more socially-forward political climate. We want a president that will work with legisla-tors to implement progressive policies and appoint Supreme Court Justices who will make decisions in line with changing times.

The staff wishes to see an America where it is possible to obtain an education without crippling debt, find a suitable job and make a decent living with the necessary social protections. We want a nation where every person has a fair chance to succeed, regardless of race, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation.

As college students, it is important for us to realize an America motivated by hope for the future, and not by a paralyzing fear of change. The Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, is the only viable choice for those who share our vision of meaning-ful progress, given the constraints of the two-party system.

Clinton has her faults. She has a hawkish record on foreign policy and has supported questionable measures in the past, such as the 1994 crime bill, welfare “reform” and, as a senator, a border fence. As Secretary of State, she pushed for increased drone strikes, regime change in Honduras and a full-scale war in Libya. If elected, Clinton must be pressured to pursue progressive policies, and be held ac-countable when she fails to deliver on her promises.

But her faults are still far less concerning than those of Trump, a brutish demagogue who consistently exhibits a lack of respect and in some cases, animosity, toward women, veterans, Muslims, immigrants and people of color. A Trump presidency would unquestionably be a step backwards on matters of social policy.

Here at Fordham Lincoln Center, hundreds of our stu-dents are targets of Trump’s nativist and racist rhetoric. Sixty-eight nationalities are represented in our student body and would all be direct-ly affected by his exclusion-ary politics. For those most-disadvantaged in society, a Trump presidency would be a catastrophe.

It is for these reasons that the editorial board of The Observer sees it fit to official-ly endorse Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential election.