Yesterday, November 8th, 2016, I attended an “Election Party” in the Campus Center Board of Trustees Room.  It was a huge event: at least a hundred students gathered together (with pizza and soda!) to watch the votes be counted to declare the 45th president of the United States.  Students debated political views/ideologies on specific topics, played a “Who Said That?” quote game with sayings from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and just had a good time in each other’s company.  We had no idea about the storm that was brewing.

       At the beginning of the party, at around 7 o’clock, Clinton was destroying the election.  It seemed like her name was constantly lit up on the screen, highlighting a win in a progressive state.  Even as I left, around 10 or so, her name was still flashing, and people were still cheering “Hillary! Hillary!”  

       I was very excited for Hillary Clinton’s win.  I classify myself as a Libertarian: I believe in a majority of the things that that party stands for.  I’m not a huge fan of Gary Johnson, given his lack of knowledge when it comes to global affairs, so I associated myself #WithHer.  All I knew for sure was that I did not want the homophobic, xenophobic, islamophobic bully that is Donald J. Trump to win the presidency.

       Eventually, around 2 a.m., I couldn’t stay up any longer, so I fell asleep.  I woke up a few hours later to the news that Donald Trump won the presidency.  I was completely baffled: a man without any political experience won the slot as the face of this nation.  A man that does not care about women, minorities, or the disabled, now is the executive of the United States.  I am still in shock as I type this essay.  I feel as though this event has pushed aside all of the efforts of civil activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Lady GaGa, and put a halt on our progress as a nation.

       I will not use this space to bash Donald Trump, but I just would like to express how disappointed I am in America.  I thought we were more progressive and loving than we really are.  It seems as though this nation is more hateful, vengeful, and racist than it seemed.  I think it is imperative that if we (anyone other than straight white males, I mean) wish to retain the rights we have been granted, we need to stand together and keep our voices loud.  We cannot allow Trump and Pence to strip us of any liberties they deem unjust.  We cannot allow common people to attempt to infringe upon the rights of others, because the “Trump Effect” is real.  Trump’s behavior has not only affected adults, but children as well, and I fear that the impressionability of children with breed more and more Donald Trumps.  

        In conclusion, I pray that Trump’s whole campaign was a joke, and that once he sits in the Oval Office, he’ll shape himself up and make the right moves.  If there’s one thing I’m happy about when it comes to this election, I am happy that I am on a campus that allows me to exercise my right of free speech and allows me to communicate with other people that feel as I do.