RYLEE, THE CLERK // Fostoria, Ohio
“College should be affordable, so people can get out of places like here.”
Rylee says she was big a fan of Bernie Sanders. “He was so cute too,” she adds with a laugh. “I knew the free college wasn’t going to work out, but that was cool. I feel bad for the people who can’t afford college. Everyone deserves an opportunity to start their career, and college is a big part of that.” For herself, she’d like to become a medical technician or a teacher — she likes kids.
Rylee has decided not to vote. “They both suck. I don’t like Trump because he’s racist, and Hillary erased those emails.”
Her stepfamily is Black, and she says her parents are voting for Hillary because they’re horrified by blatant racism. When discussing racism in the area, she says Fostoria isn’t so bad, but her high school (one town over) was “super racist. A lot of the kids used the hard R.” You can probably guess what racial epithet she meant.
“I just want to go somewhere really far. I was thinking Florida.” Rylee works at Family Video, hoping to save up enough money to leave. She says the store gets busy at night, which she’s thankful for, because the odd clown trend in the area terrifies her. “They’re like everywhere right now… I’m worried they might come in here.”
Fostoria, OH:
• City Population: 13,182.
• Per capita income: $18,217.
• 79.9% white, 10.3% Latino, 6.5% Black, 3.5% two or more races.
• Percentage below the poverty line: 11.2%.