On Wednesday, we all woke up to startling news that Hillary Clinton did not win the 2016 Presidential Election. Now, Donald Trump will serve as the 45th president of the United States.
There was an odd silence around campus the day the election results came in, and it’s an appropriate time to respectfully show how this has made people feel. I decided to briefly talk to my roommate and here’s a snippet of our conversation:
Maya: How’d you feel when you first found out the news ?
De’Ja: I felt defeated. I voted for Hillary and was beyond shocked to. Donald Trump is sexist, he does not respect women, and he is not fit to run for president.
Maya: I felt just as you did. I think it was a complete shock to the U.S. because we had so much hope. Hope is definitely what keeps America going and to get this news was a complete let-down. I feel like there’s been a shift on campus. The faculty and staff have tried to help us cope but I don’t think it’s really helping.
De’Ja: My teachers don’t talk about the election too much in class, but I can see that it’s affecting students and the energy within the classroom.
Maya: Yeah, I’m feeling that weird energy in the classrooms, as well. One of my teachers tried talking about it in class, which I think works as an outlet for students. Do you think you’ll ever get to see a woman elected in the U.S.?
De’Ja : Unfortunately, no.
Maya: How do you feel about being a young, black woman attending a PWI and knowing that Trump has been elected?
De’Ja: I feel scared. I don’t know what to expect in the near future with him. I’ve seen so many videos of people getting called the n-word, postings of derogatory messages on buildings, and within a day, so much has changed because he has been elected.
Maya: I’d agree. We’re in West Virginia where there’s a majority of Trump voters. Twitter shows so much of this and I think it’s scary to think this is actually happening. They think it’s okay now that the person they elected has won and it supports their reasoning for doing so. I don’t want people to forget that, beyond that, we are all of the human race and should treat each other equally. There are so many factors such as race, sexual orientation, religion and many components that separates us, so why add another layer?
De’Ja: I completely agree with you!