Student at Trump Rally Makes Headlines
“Immigrants are the backbone of this nation!” senior Lucy Weiler shouted at the republican candidate Donald Trump rally in Exeter last Thursday. To this comment, Trump quickly retorted, “Illegal immigrants are the backbone of this nation? I don’t think so, darling.” This altercation has since captured news headlines across the country. Weiler was one of several student protesters at the event Thursday. Hundreds of Academy students and Exeter residents congregated at the Exeter Town Hall to hear the leading republican candidate in NH, Trump, speak. Soon after his rally in Exeter, Trump won the NH Republican Primary this past Tuesday.Of the students who attended, most went just to observe Trump’s campaign, but an ample number of supporters and protesters of the presidential candidate were also in attendance among the crowd. After the rally many students complained about Exeter students who cut in line to get into the rally, as many students and residents who had patiently waited in line were shut out due to maximum capacity.One student, who had a similar experience as Fotta, wrote on Exeter Confesses that they were “sickened to see so many Exonians cut in line to get in,” as “the line was largely made of townspeople,” and the elderly, who are eligible and planning to vote, opposed to most Exeter students in attendance.
“I was shocked that he was as flamboyant as the media portrays him to be. That man is very interesting, larger than life and a little scary.”
Of the students that did get into the rally, many were approached by news outlets to comment on Trump.Among them, Weiler was approached by a television news outlet to comment on her interaction with the candidate. Weiler’s comment was a response to Trump’s answer to Prep Gillian Quinto’s question about illegal immigrants. In response to Quinto’s question, Trump said, “No, no, this is a Bernie plant.”Weiler felt compelled to shout because she felt that “Trump doesn’t understand exactly what immigrants bring to our country.” After calling her “darling,” Trump disregarded Weiler’s comment.Weiler later told the news outlet that Trump demeaned her, and that it was a bad move by him if he wanted to attract young voters. Weiler recounted that the reporter interviewing her, who appeared to support Trump, began to argue with her, saying that she was rude to interrupt Trump and that she shouldn’t be offended by being called darling.Weiler said that she went to the rally to protest Trump’s campaign and to make it clear that the new generation of Americans do not tolerate his campaign platforms. Other students went to protest Trump’s views on ethnic minorities, muslims and gay marriage.Upper Autumn Herness was among those protesting Trump’s platform to reverse the supreme court’s ruling to legalize gay marriage. “As a bisexual person, that affects me personally,” Herness said. Herness felt the protesting was successful, recalling that her protesting led to tangible conversations between her and Trump supporters.“Many Trump supporters also support reversing the decision, so I tried to make the conversation more personal by asking these people ‘Why shouldn't I get married?’” Herness said.Herness added that for the most part everyone was very supportive of the protesters, and only one person was rude to her personally.Dean of Residential Life AJ Cosgrove met with a secret service agent before the rally to discuss student safety during protests. In discussions with students, he wanted to ensure that the student protesters knew they had a right to protest, but that they needed to remain in the areas that were designated as places for public observance.Dean of Multicultural Affairs Rosanna Salcedo met with some of the students who protested before the rally to discuss appropriate signage and the best way to communicate their message.Outside of the protestors, Cosgrove observed that many students were there simply to listen and watch, not to support Trump. Though it was a Trump rally, Cosgrove said, “most people who attended appeared to be there to observe the spectacle.”Senior Alexa Peterkin agreed that the majority of students who attended the event seemed to do so out of irony rather than support. As a Hillary Clinton supporter, Peterkin admitted she was among them.Although no one was hurt and no fights broke out during the rally, Peterkin said that as a non-supporter of Trump, she was nervous about attending because Trump supporters can sometimes be violent and intense. But, Peterkin said, she was interested to see what kind of people the rally attracted and if those in the crowd would be supportive of his plans to build a wall on the Mexico border.Peterkin said that Trump himself surprised her.“I was shocked that he was as flamboyant as the media portrays him to be. That man is very interesting, larger than life and a little scary,” she said.