Sunday, October 1, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Newsroom 104
  • Home
  • Bay Area
  • Nation
  • 2022 Elections
  • 2020 Elections
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Bay Area
  • Nation
  • 2022 Elections
  • 2020 Elections
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
NEWSROOM 104
No Result
View All Result
Home Elections 2020 Previews

In San Diego, Stanford housemates keep the peace by agreeing to disagree

by Galen Lew
October 26, 2020
in Elections 2020 Previews
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By Galen Lew

The four roommates easily agreed on their menu for the night’s dinner: grilled chicken and rice. Talking over their political differences would be a tougher challenge.

When Stanford announced a virtual Autumn Quarter, college friends Ben Zuercher, Marco Merolla, Dan McColl and Zack Lagrange decided to retreat to the warm coast of Southern California, renting a three-bedroom house in the heart of San Diego’s Mission Beach.

Lagrange, 23, the group’s self-proclaimed grill master and food connoisseur, comes from a conservative household, one that voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and plans to do the same in this election. The Biology major struggles to navigate his passion for environmental conservation with his political views. McColl, 21, comes from a similar background, and the Management, Science, and Engineering major feels strongly about his ties to the Republican Party.

The other half of the friend group is on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Zuercher, 22, an International Relations major, has always held strong opinions in support for Democrats such as Bernie Sanders. Merola, 21, comes from a relatively bipartisan family, but the Philosophy major has chosen to vote as a Democrat in 2020 and loudly voices his disdain for Trump.

As November 3rd approaches, the Mission Beach housemates feel as though their party affiliations and choice of candidate have become ever-more divisive topics of conversation. Especially during their dinner times.

On this particular night, as Lagrange prepped the chicken he would grill, McColl explained: “The conversation gets going after a couple of beers and a belly full of food.”

One-off comments about anything political are what plunge the group into topics like police brutality or their individual trust in the media. The conversations can get pretty heated. “We went one time until 3 a.m.,” Zuercher said. “I mean, we had a couple of drinks in us and we were pretty exhausted at that point.”

It’s like fighting fire with fire, and as they all know they’re not going to change each other’s opinions at this point. “Usually the conversation ends by agreeing to disagree or we just stop talking overall, then we call it a night,” Merolla said. “We plan to tread lightly around each other for the next couple of days.”

To them, some things are better left unspoken. And with Election Day drawing closer, Zuercher and Merolla admit that they often have to hold their tongues. “Sometimes it’s just better for our friendships and roommate situation if we stay silent,” Zuercher said. McColl and Lagrange feel the same way, explaining that “it’s better not to get into it.”

What will they be doing next Tuesday night? They plan to all go for a drink at their local bar and then get home and go to bed early.

Author

  • Galen Lew
    Galen Lew

    View all posts

Tags: Ben ZuercherDan McCollMarco MerollaZack Lagrange
Galen Lew

Galen Lew

Next Post
Hawaii moved to mail-in ballots long before coronavirus threat

Hawaii moved to mail-in ballots long before coronavirus threat

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Virtual internships provide short-term fix for systemic entertainment industry problem

Virtual internships provide short-term fix for systemic entertainment industry problem

2 years ago
Video: Stanford students talk midterm elections

Video: Stanford students talk midterm elections

11 months ago

Popular News

Democrats, Republicans agree on one thing: campus apathy
Elections 2022

Democrats, Republicans agree on one thing: campus apathy

by Anne Li
November 9, 2022

By Anne Li and Estefanía Acuña Lacarieri Cameron Lange, a junior from Los Angeles, is the epitome of a politically...

Read more
Beer, wine and community return to student-run outdoor nightspot

Beer, wine and community return to student-run outdoor nightspot

June 12, 2021
The lights are still dim on Broadway, but ‘Blindness’ shows the way for New York theaters to reopen

The lights are still dim on Broadway, but ‘Blindness’ shows the way for New York theaters to reopen

May 20, 2021
Stanford’s first-year students diverge in summer plans after a year of disruption

Stanford’s first-year students diverge in summer plans after a year of disruption

June 9, 2021
Concerns over ethics, diversity cause some students to say no to Silicon Valley

Concerns over ethics, diversity cause some students to say no to Silicon Valley

June 12, 2021

Newsroom 104

NEWSROOM 104 is a student project in Communication 104, a Stanford University journalism course taught by R.B. Brenner. The articles, videos and podcast presented on this site are the result of original reporting by our team of journalists. Some photos were purchased from AP Images.

Menu

  • Home
  • Bay Area
  • Nation
  • 2022 Elections
  • 2020 Elections
  • About Us

About Us

We are Estefanía Acuña Lacarieri, Adia Adeogba, Ells Boone, Rani Chor, Chloe Chow, Sophie Duhameau, Zoe Edelman, Isabelle Edgar, Kyla Figueroa, Rebecca-Ann Jattan, Grace Lee, Anne Li, Itzel Luna, Emily Nichols, Danny Ritz, Joseph Sarmenta, Elli Schulz, Sonja Stevenson, Alex Wei, and Kennedy Wesley.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bay Area
  • Nation
  • Elections 2020 Previews
  • About Us

NEWSROOM 104 is a student project in Communication 104, a Stanford University journalism course taught by R.B. Brenner.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In