Jeff Chemerinsky, a former federal prosecutor who’s picked up the support of police reform advocates who’ve grown tired of Gascón. 

“I think the race is really centered on what we believe crime to be caused by,” said Emily Starr, a junior majoring in political science as well as Spanish, who pointed to how both tough-on-crime and more liberal approaches to criminal policy were equally rooted in a desire for justice and safety.

Starr was sympathetic to Gascón’s cause and supported his policies, but believed the reasons for the discrepancy between his success and approval rating was a symptom of a countywide political coordination issue. 

Despite the uptick in crime around campus last year, some students appear uninterested in the DA race. Burke lamented the low participation rates in local elections, especially around the typically politically active USC campus and within L.A., where politicians with “small” roles can have major impacts on everyday life. 

“Energy is always going to be focused on the presidential campaign and election because that’s the person who we see the most,” Burke said. “The [DA race] is a really big deal, but I just don’t think that like the ‘normal’ citizen understands the power of these policymakers.” 

Addy Ledbetter, a sophomore majoring in English, felt similarly to Burke and said she felt mystified as to how local elections became so obsolete in campus discourse.  

“USC is a little bit more proactive about [politics and social issues]. If you looked at our campus last semester, and how many protests we had, [students are] really welcome to voice their opinions,” Ledbetter said. “It’s not like that is an issue, but when it comes to things like this, it’s just no one cares.”

That being said, local politicians didn’t prioritize student engagement this campaign season, and none of the DA candidates visited campus. Ledbetter thought that oversight was a shame, both for students and the candidates. 

“Something that may be seen as small as a DA’s race, student voice is gonna play a huge impact on that,” she said. 

Starr conceded that the DA race is “objectively so complicated,” and said she understood jumping into the intricacies of local politics as students wasn’t a simple task. Despite that, if students want to see change, they can take steps to make it happen. 

“You can change your voter registration in like, one day, and if you voted for people that are fighting for the right methods of improving our district, you’d see monumental improvements,” Ledbetter said. “Petty crime and these things will be reduced naturally, because people are thriving rather than living in a district that’s been pushed to the side.”