Prior to attending Agnes Scott College, I’ve never witnessed a more high-energy group of students so riled up by politics. I suppose with the liberal reputation the school has it should be expected, but I was culture-shocked anyway (not in a negative sense, though). I have always been an extremely political person, so Agnes is quite accommodating to my tastes.
There’s a variety of opinions represented on Agnes Scott’s campus, but an overwhelming amount of the population would definite itself as liberal. That being said, most of the students were rooting for Hillary Clinton’s big win. Besides aligning with most mannerisms that the students share, Clinton is the first woman to be nominated as a presidential nominee, and that has significance considering Agnes Scott’s values. Agnes is a historically single-gender college, and has been the “world for women” for 127 years. Hillary Clinton attended a women’s college herself and has always been a proponent of breaking the glass ceiling. As expected, Agnes was buzzing around the clock on November 8th. Most of the students planned to attend the Young Democrat’s election viewing party that night. They expected to watch the election of the first woman president of the United States of America.
So, of course, the campus was disappointed about the actual results.
There were tears. A lot of students left the viewing early. I barely saw students in my classes at all. The weirdest energy was in the air for the following 24 hours. I received email after email from different associations within Agnes that expressed condolences to all of the students. It was the oddest occurrence I’ve ever witnessed.
I’m a hijabi who openly expresses my faith and beliefs on campus frequently. I received loving words and “just checking in” text messages throughout the entire day. I felt so safe in that moment, despite being completely terrified of what’s to come from the Trump administration. I’m really glad I got to go through such a long and horrible election with my Agnes siblings. I do think that the experience has reaffirmed why Agnes is the perfect school for me. Even in the midst one of the largest presentations of male privilege ever experienced, Agnes still manages to make me feel like I belong and that I’m safe.
So, in summation, the election of 2016 wasn’t ideal. I recommend a sisterhood network such as Agnes’ to combat the bad feelings associated with scary situations like it. The lovely people I’ve met here really give me hope for the future of America and have really helped me get through this traumatizing week.