Since Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the US election, in one of the largest electoral upsets of recent times, the world has been looking on in amazement. Trump’s success came from the masses who believed in his vision of a failing America that needed to return to its former greatness. Yet this rejection of modern America was not unanimous. Now that most of the votes have been counted, it is clear that the younger population of the US firmly rejected Trump’s plan for the country.
The reaction by students and universities alike to Trump’s victory was immediate. On this side of the Atlantic, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) showed its solidarity with its students from the US, publicising the Welfare Officer’s office hours, the Student Counselling Service’s contact number and Niteline’s contact details on their Facebook page. They encouraged students upset by the election results to talk to somebody and reminded them that they didn’t have “to be alone” in the days after the election.
Some colleges have seen on-campus riots, with riot squads called in on election night
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In the US, the results were met by a sense of disbelief by millennials. In most US colleges, a large proportion of the student body lives in campus housing with the campuses acting like communities unto themselves. The reaction of students, in some cases, has been extreme, while other universities have reported a layer of silence and grief descending on their usually active campuses. Most showed discontent and disbelief at the result. Many have reported an increase in hate crimes, such as violence towards Muslim-American and Latino/a students. Other colleges have organised protests and marches to show their dissatisfaction with the election of Trump. Some colleges have seen on-campus riots, with riot squads called in on election night. Certain professors in Harvard University have postponed exams in light of the election results, while in Yale University professors and administrative staff sent out emails commiserating with students on what for many was a very disappointing result. The apparent difference in what the youth of America envisages for it’s future and that which was decided through the electoral college voting system is stark.
It’s also an uncertain time for those visiting the US. Every year, hundreds of Irish students spend their third year studying in American universities. These students have a unique insight into the feeling on the ground regarding Trump’s election. Rory McFarland, a third-year TSM Philosophy and Sociology student, is studying at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst for the year. Speaking to The University Times, McFarland explains: “Massachusetts voting strongly in favour of Hillary, and the rest of the country didn’t. People are confused, thinking ‘how did this happen? How is this happening?’ Depending on your ethnicity, most people here are either afraid or angry.” The University of Massachusetts is somewhat known for holding riots, and on the night of the election itself, riot squads were brought in. “I imagine that any major decision made by Trump over the next couple of months could easily result in a riot. Yesterday I filmed a protest, they organised one straight away, and they’re constantly organising rallies too. People here are just deeply unhappy. The whole mood here on Wednesday was just very dark.”
Clodagh Crumlish is a third-year law student, who is studying at the Maurer Law School in Indiana University for the year. Indiana is a predominantly Republican state, although the university she attends and the town of Bloomington where the university is based are both Democrat strongholds. Speaking to The University Times, Crumlish echoes McFarland’s sentiments on the mood in college on Wednesday: “There’s been a definite mood switch, walking into college on Wednesday morning, the mood was very, very sombre.” She feels that there is a certain degree of shock around the college, and has also had very few classes since the election. “It’s still very much ‘Wow, I can’t believe this happened.’ Wednesday, I personally didn’t have any classes, it was mainly professors giving their views on the election and where it all went wrong.”
Eoin Buttanshaw is a third-year history student studying at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. North Carolina is a “swing state” that eventually voted for Trump, but the university is in what is known as “The Triangle”, a predominantly Democrat area, while the rest of the State is mainly Republican. Speaking to The University Times, Battanshaw described the atmosphere in college the day after the election: “UNC’s basketball team got to the final of the National Championships last year, and they lost on the second last throw of the game. Some of my friends said that the feeling around campus the next day was very similar to what it was like on Wednesday. A lot of shock, a lot of sadness, disappointment, regret. All the same emotions.”
I have some African-American friends who are devastated. They’ve said that nobody can understand the fear you experience being a minority when this has just happened
Speaking to The University Times, Clemmie Warner, a third-year history student studying at Boston College, described the devastation a number of her professors have expressed. “One of my professors was basically in tears. She’s a new American citizen, she’s Egyptian, and this was the first time she has voted and she is devastated. Another one of my professors is Chinese and she couldn’t vote, but she was asking ‘How could the people have done this?’ and she has friends that are worried they’re going to be deported.” Some of her fellow students have also shown how upset and fearful they are. “I have some African-American friends who are devastated. They’ve said that nobody can understand the fear you experience being a minority when this has just happened.”
Kevin Doyle, a third-year law student studying at Emory University in Atlanta, told The University Times of a similar experience: “I watched the results in the law school here on Tuesday. I was talking to a friend of mine who is black, and he was in tears. I asked him why and he said that he genuinely feared for what was going to happen, and that to me kind of hit home, showing that these people are scared.” It appears that this is a very common phenomenon at the moment, as Buttanshaw reiterated the same feelings in North Carolina. “One of my friends who is African American is very upset, and is very worried about what this meant for her, and for the future. It’s kind of worrying that someone so racist and misogynistic is in charge of your country, and that’s quite upsetting for all of my American friends here.”
Doyle has also noticed businesses and public figures trying to minimise the racist rhetoric in the area that may be encouraged following Trump’s election. “The USA are actually playing a soccer match against Mexico tonight [Friday], and I saw the Facebook event for it being screened in a pub near campus, and the one thing that struck me was that they put in the description that there was to be no political chanting. I thought ‘It’s soccer, why are they doing this?’ But they wrote specifically that they couldn’t say ‘Build That Wall’. That’s the kind of thing that I hadn’t really thought about.”
They are urging us to be nice to our neighbours, and to be kind and thoughtful. They’re telling us that it doesn’t matter who is the President, everyone can make a difference
Crumlish and Warner both commented on some of the displays of kindness they’ve noticed in the days following the election. In Indiana University, the professors are urging students to talk to somebody if they are upset, and to try to concentrate on everybody’s humanity rather than the negatives of the election results. “The professors are saying ‘Yes, there is going to be a surge in hate crime, and yes, immigration is going to tighten up, but you have to remember that everyone is still human at the end of the day.’ They are urging us to be nice to our neighbours, and to be kind and thoughtful. They’re telling us that it doesn’t matter who is the President, everyone can make a difference”, Crumlish said.
Warner has noticed a number of students defending one another in the college community in Boston College: “I’ve seen people put up statuses saying that they voted for Hillary, but that their parents voted for Trump because we’re a Republican family. I think one of the hardest things is that people are so tied to their party here, more so than in Ireland or the UK, either you’re a Republican through and through or you’re a Democrat through and through, so I think it’s particularly hard for those who wanted to vote Republican but couldn’t, or those who didn’t want to vote for Trump but did because they couldn’t vote Democrat. I think that’s an interesting dynamic, and people have been coming to the defence of each other, saying that we have to understand that Hillary wasn’t the perfect candidate, and if you are a Republican, it is very difficult to go against that, especially for a candidate like Hillary.”
Most students across the US appear to be in a state of shock and confusion, and while many are taking a stance with protests and marches, others are trying to move on. Doyle says: “A lot of people are trying to accept the election results and move on, to a certain degree. One of my friends said they woke up on Wednesday morning, and the sky was still there and the world hadn’t blown up, and I think that’s possibly the type of mentality that people need to have to get through the next four years.”
