The presidential election is *finally* over. The American people have spoken: Donald Trump will become the 45th president of the United States in January. Disbelief quickly spread around America as more than half of the population felt anxiety, fear, and uneasiness. The news shook our campus as Temple students attempted to make sense of what a Trump presidency would look like. Because of the results, people across the nation voiced their opinions about the situation and even took to the streets to march and make themselves heard. Philadelphians included.
Julissa, a freshman, was one of the first to make her voice heard at a protest march the night after the election. She wanted to get out there due to her discontent of the president-elect.
“I felt like [protesting] would make a difference. I knew that I wasn’t happy with the election,” she said. “I absolutely loved that people could come together as one and stand up for what they believe in. I was happy to be a part of it. It showed a sense of unity.”
Julissa, however, was somewhat taken aback at the protest because several people were seen desecrating the American flag. “I quickly got a different opinion after a couple people burned the American flag. Sure, I’m unhappy with the elected president but there is no reason to burn the flag. We still live in this country. This is still one of the greatest countries. We should have some respect for it. Burning an American flag isn’t going to do anything. It just makes us look bad,” she said.
Because of this, she left the area.
To this day, Julissa still isn’t giving up on Clinton. She still believes the runner-up should have been elected. “Until this day I have a Stronger Together poster on my dorm door because I truly believe that,” she said.
Rachel*, too, was proud to go out into the city streets to march for what she believed in. She was so passionate about expressing her opinion that she went to three protests.
“I needed to take some sort of action, so putting my body on the line was the most immediate thing I could do. It helped me process,” she said.
She explained the three protests as conveying different meanings. “The first was just voicing immediate feelings. The second was pretty confusing, and it was about many causes,” she said. The third, however, took place on Veteran’s Day. “I personally attended this protest to get a sense of what people were feeling. It was a march generally supporting all humanity in terms of race, sexuality, and accepting others. People were chanting “My body, My rights!” and “Peace! Now!”, waving homemade signs. There was a lot of enthusiasm throughout the walk to City Hall. I definitely felt it.
Ashley*, a freshman, was one of many students on campus who couldn’t believe the results from Tuesday.
“I watched [the election coverage] up until Trump took Pennsylvania, realized it was over, and tried to sleep,” she said. “I also feel really fearful and uncertain. Our democracy depends on the peaceful transition of power, and there’s a lot of civil unrest currently.”
She, herself, is supportive of protesting. “It’s the people’s’ constitutional right to assemble and advocate their free speech, so from that perspective, I have no problem with it,” she said.
Although Ashley* wished to attend a protest, she did not. “I saw the violence coming from a mile away. I didn’t want my name associated with that, especially when I have a career in the federal government in mind.”
On the other hand, Tyler*, also a freshman, is standing strong throughout the experience our country is going through.
“Some of the policies that Trump has talked about have been crude, unfair, and scary. I believe that some of it was talk, and I will give him the chance to prove himself, however if he attacks my friends and family, I will fight for them,” he said.
Tyler also has a different outlook than others due to his pursued profession. “Being in the army meant no matter what, whoever wins, I have to respect my commander-in-chief.”
Students were also thinking about the electoral college. They believe that it wasn’t fair in this election. Rachel* told me her thoughts on how the electoral college played out in this year’s election. “I know that this isn’t the first time when we’ve had a close race and the electoral college ended up determining the president-elect. I think that it seems to be more fair when the race isn’t as close.” she said. She also believes that through researching, she can be more informed with the situation at hand. “I think I could benefit from doing more research to better understand how [the electoral college] works,” she said.
Yes, although many students are faced with the high probability of four anxiety-producing years, I believe the university’s community can face these years together through simply accepting each other. In times like these, we need to look out for each other. Even though Hillary may not be in office, remember her campaign slogan, “Stronger Together”.
*Name has been changed.