Discussions Arise Following Election Results
After the presidential election results shocked much of the community on campus, students and faculty members have begun to process the idea of a Trump administration, a possibility few had predicted or seriously entertained, through discussion and debate and the creation of plans for the future.
Faculty, staff and administrators have reached out to show support for students by offering places to share opinions and feelings. Dean of Multicultural Affairs Rosanna Salcedo sent an email to students reminding them that the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs is a safe space and resource for them to have conversations or seek advice. Similarly, Campus Minister Heidilee Heath offered times she would be available to speak to concerned students, and teachers offered class time to discuss feelings and confusions over the results. Principal Lisa MacFarlane has also made herself available to students on several occasions in the library and in the church basement. She has encouraged respectful discussion on campus and over social media.
“These are high school students actually participating in a presidential campaign. This was not a mock UN. This was not a mock anything. This was actual political participation. So I am very proud of them"
Mathematics instructor Catherine Holden, who is an advisor for the Exeter Democratic club, suggested that the outpour of support for students was not because Trump had beaten Clinton, but rather that the election cycle itself was peculiar. “This is not what it is normally like, at all,” she said. Holden believes that even if Clinton had won, the adults on campus would have offered the same support for students. “Based off the polls, people expected that Hillary was going to win, so they had to reorient themselves and take a step back and absorb what happened,” Holden said.
While upper Kyle Kanchuga thought the administration has been too openly sided with Clinton, he acknowledged the importance of considerate, productive conversation. He has found that more often than not, students on campus are too quick to surmise, calling Trump supporters “racist, homophobic and anti-LGBT.” He also worries that people believe their opinions so deeply that they become fact to them. “People sometimes forget that Trump supporters hold a myriad of differing opinions and voted on reasons that aren’t always about social issues,” he said.
After the disclosure of the president-elect, preps Wynter Tracey, Lilly Pinciaro and Eva Carchidi were galvanized into action. They wanted to create a video detailing not only the experiences of people who were personally affected by the election, but also experiences pertaining to social injustice.
At first, Tracey and Carchidi were shocked and angry about the outcome of the election. “All I was wishing for was some loophole in this so we could find a way around it,” Tracey said. Pinciaro felt the effects of it around campus, with students and teachers crying in classes and a general air of tension between supporters and critics of the president-elect.
Soon after, they realized that their emotions alone would not change the results. “While I can’t speak for minorities, I want to be an ally and support anyone experiencing the backlash of Trump’s election,” Carchidi said. “I won’t be affected as much as some other people will, but I believe this doesn’t give me or anyone else an excuse not to help those affected.”
Tracey, Carchidi and Pinciaro wanted to move forward with a plan of action. They felt that bigoted comments were often overlooked on campus and awareness of discrimination needed to be spread. Through their video, their goal is to show clearly the prevalence of racism, homophobia, sexism and Islamophobia, as well as to empower victims of intolerant comments.
One area of comfort for the trio was the class discussions that their teachers held on the topic. They said these conversations helped them understand the situation, looking at it in a less hateful way. Talking about the election in an environment where people were free to speak their minds helped the three students feel safer and more informed.
Similarly, lower Mary Provencal-Fogarty said that the election was a popular topic in many of her classes. Her classmates discussed what a Trump presidency would mean for themselves and the people they care about, specifically in terms of mass deportations and access to health care services for women. Provencal-Fogarty expressed hope for the future, especially after observing how exit polls showed that a majority of millennials voted for Clinton. “I fully intend to be present at every movement and rally and protest,” she said.
Prep Nosa Lawani was satisfied with the results of the election. “I’ve always tried to fight the demonization of Trump,” he said. Lawani read Trump’s plan for his first 100 days in office and stated that it would be effective in changing America for the better. However, Lawani thought that discussing Trump’s presidency in class was awkward and unfitting, especially with some students crying in class. “I don’t think the Exeter Harkness table is the ideal place for political discussion,” he said.
Some students have attended peaceful protests against Trump. Upper Mariam Jebari attended a “Not My President” event in Portsmouth over the weekend. She said she went partially out of curiosity, having seen protests on TV, and wasn’t sure of what to expect. “I was in need of some kind of validation that I wasn’t the only one completely outraged about the new president-elect,” she said. In Portsmouth, she joined a group that held up signs and shouted chants. She described it as a positive way to get rid of some anger and frustration. Jebari thinks that Exeter’s response to the results has been appropriate. “I saw almost half the school cry last Wednesday, and I think it was a time for grieving,” she said. “Upset is an understatement.”
Physical instructor Olutoyin Abiodun Augustus-Ikwuakor has been “deeply disturbed” by the election of Donald Trump, but she is also hopeful. Through difficult conversations with students, she has begun to understand the ramifications of the elections, from the “hate-fueled” platforms to the gender stereotypes addressed. “My hope is in souls being courageous enough to ask questions, listen and speak up due to the passion with which they feel their truth,” she said.
Over the past year, the political clubs on campus have been preparing for the election. The Exeter Democratic Club has hosted several phone banks, attended state conferences and dinners and held their annual “fives,” an event where students go out at 5 a.m. and remind citizens to vote on election day. Advisor to Exeter Democratic Club and Public Services Assistant Jacquelyne Weatherspoon praised the democrats on campus who worked tirelessly on campaigns. “Forget about Hillary winning,” she said. “These are high school students actually participating in a presidential campaign. This was not a mock UN. This was not a mock anything. This was actual political participation. So I am very proud of them.”