Campus Reflects on Changes in Year since Trump's Election
Last year on Wednesday, November 9, students walked into class after an emotional night; some were joyful, others in tears. Many were confused at the result of the presidential election. Many teachers put aside the coursework for the day and made time for discussion in their classes. One year since President Trump’s election, instructors continue to grapple with how to address politics around the Harkness table, where students frequently find themselves in discussion with peers who hold opposing views.
Upper Elliot Diaz noticed an increase in politically-based comments during history classes, as well as a shift among political clubs from conversation to action. “Clubs that have always been political have stayed that way, but now have become more focused on direct action as opposed to discussion,” he said.
“Students have become hyper aware of the political affiliation of those around them, both inside or outside of the classroom,”
Politics have also pervaded social conversations, Diaz mentioned. “Students have become hyper aware of the political affiliation of those around them, both inside or outside of the classroom,” he added. Diaz has also noticed an increase in political speakers at assemblies.
In Democratic “Dem” Club and Republican Club, Exonians discuss politically divisive issues with other students of similar and conflicting viewpoints. As the clubs intentionally focus on current political events, the presidential election and resulting administration continue to be an important topic of the discussion. In addition, Dem Club co-head and upper Niko Amber noted that these discussions are not limited to political clubs. “The political conversation on campus has changed only because there has been a lot of hateful rhetoric spewed by Trump and we have been having more conversations to address it,” she said.
Moreover, Amber noted that Exeter is removed from much of the national political climate, and thus political discussions are not as prevalent on campus as away from Exeter. “At Exeter, as we all know, we live in a bubble. I think that also applies to the presidency; I don't think that the things Trump has done have affected me as much attending Exeter as they would if I were at home,” she said.
Dean of Studies and Academic Affairs Brooks Moriarty believes that one of the school’s tasks is to teach students how to think critically and engage in civil discourse. “I think the country and campus are experiencing higher levels of anxiety, concern, anger. I think that is true regardless of one’s political beliefs,” He said. “The nation doesn’t know how to engage in civil discourse at this time.”
Most teachers appreciate increased political discussion, but hold differing opinions on the place it should have in the classroom. “I think the election opened a door, in a way, to more conversation. On the one hand, it was clear Americans were siloed politically, and on the other, a lot of young people expressed a desire to not be so siloed,” History Instructor Amy Schwartz said. She expressed her belief that a U.S. history course is an effective platform for bringing politics into the classroom, and said, “we need a curriculum around race, diversity, power, and white privilege that impacts every student—not just those who are predisposed to be interested.” According to Schwartz, the events in Charlottesville made this especially clear to some teachers, but these ideas have yet to be implemented as part of the curriculum.
History Instructor Michael Golay allows for political discussion in his classes, but keeps the conversation focused on academics. “As a teacher, you want to allow students to express their points of view, but you want to keep it as scholarly as you can,” he said. “The reality is, we’re an academic institution and we’re not a current-events focused history department,” Golay added. Although he noticed varying emotional reactions from some of his students following the election, a day or two after November 9, Golay’s class discussions returned to the course material. “How closely politics touches your life depends on who you are, what your background is, and for most of us, Trump is kind of a distant threat,” he said.
In the English department, national politics continued to appear in class discussions. English Instructor Mercy Carbonell believes that politics plays an important role at the Harkness Table. “As a classroom instructor charged with opening up and fostering discourse, I do believe it is my civic, cultural and educational responsibility to create and to facilitate a curriculum that implicitly and explicitly is about social justice and activism,” Carbonell said.
In the English department, where social injustice and oppression are often prominent themes in the reading materials, she contemplated the instructor’s role in creating and mitigating political discussion. “Within a Harkness classroom, when does a teacher speak up and interject if she hears something problematic? How do we foster empathy? How do we name injustice when we hear it and see it? How can we bring intersectionality into our work?” she asked.
Recent white nationalist riots and the national rhetoric that they spurred have furthered her concern. “White nationalism and the legitimization of bigotry, hate, dehumanization is dangerous, is a direct threat to all of us,” she said.
Carbonell believes an instructor’s role as a mediator in class discussion on current events like the Charlottesville protests is now more important than ever. “My hope is that those of us as adults in this community will help students by listening, by offering history, by creating new curricular programs, by interrogating policies,” she said.
In addition to her role in the English department, Carbonell serves as head of the Martin Luther King Day committee and plans Martin Luther King Day seminars and activities, which will continue to address institutionalized racism and injustice at Exeter and the world at large.
According to Carbonell, this year’s MLK seminars “will ask us all to unlearn and learn, to reflect, to listen,” and consider means of social change on campus. “There are gestures all over campus that suggest many of us want to see some significant cultural change,” she said. “I believe that we all deserve to work and to live and to learn and to grow and to evolve in a place that is safe, that is equitable and that is inclusive.”
Looking forward to the 2020 elections, Carbonell expressed fear and disappointment toward a recent UNH study that found that 47% of New Hampshire residents likely to vote would support Trump. Golay predicted that a large portion of student body would mobilize to support their favorite candidate. “I think the more students who are involved in this, the better for the future of American democracy,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing when people are not objective, but committed to the ideas that they believe in, and are willing to put themselves on the line for them.”