Campus is tense in wake of vote

Posted

In the week since President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise win over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a wave of protests and bias attacks have swept the nation, largely among younger voters and on college campuses. 

Local colleges were not immune to the effects of the vote, as students at Manhattan College have expressed a variety of emotions over the victory by Mr. Trump, whose chances of winning had been estimated at only 33.5 percent by the opinion-poll analysis website FiveThirthyEight.com.  

Reports of students walking the Riverdale campus of the college wearing Trump attire and waving “Make America Great Again,” flags have been coupled by stories of professors allowing students to discuss their feelings in class.

Some students claimed they have been harassed by Trump supporters around campus through the week and over the weekend. In one of the incidents, Isabelle Leyva, a junior, said she tried to distribute a poem voicing her solidarity with women and people of color when she was reported to the school as a threat.

“I wrote this letter... it was called ‘Dear America, it was about the fear that marginalized are feeling right now,” she said. “Students reported me a terrorist threat, saying I was going to burn down New York City – obviously not because they were scared, but because they had a problem with it.”

Ms. Leyva is working with a group of other students to form a club to combat bias on campus. But she said Manhattan College security officers ripped her letter off the walls and collected it from public spaces around campus. 

 

Trumpian insults

Ms. Leyva and her friend Samantha Roth both said they have encountered harassment from supporters of Mr. Trump. 

“We both have had people come to us, I personally have heard people being told someone was going to grab them by the pussy,” Ms. Leyva said. “I had a Muslim girl come up to me and say that somebody walked by her and said ‘You’re going to have to go home soon,’ and at night when everyone goes out and everyone goes drinking, all we heard were Donald Trump chants. It’s not a safe place.”

An email from Manhattan College President Brennan O’Donnell to students, faculty and staff highlighted a plan to help the campus community talk through one of the most divisive presidential campaigns in American History.

In the wake of the election, protester rallied around the country against the real estate mogul. 

“I understand that uniting together and finding common ground may not be easy, but it is vital to respect our democratic institutions and laws,” Mr. O’Donnell said in the Nov. 10 email. 

Voters aged 18- to 29-years-old overwhelmingly voted against Mr. Trump, who repeatedly came under fire for his remarks about Mexican immigrants and Muslims and a recording of his vulgar remarks about women during an off-camera conversation with NBC’s Billy Bush.

In his email, Mr. O’Donnell attached a link to a full schedule of events that the college held this week and last to provide students and faculty with a forum to discuss their feelings about the presidential election.

 

Cancelled classes

Colleges across the United States have cancelled classes and offered counseling for students who are both dejected at the failure of Ms. Clinton, the first woman ever nominated for president by a major national party, and angry at the election of Mr. Trump, who lost the popular vote but won 290 electoral votes as of Nov. 10. 

“It is also vital to provide an inclusive community, respect all people, embrace concern for the poor and maintain faith in the presence of God,” according to Mr. O’Donnell’s email. “As we have done in the lead up to Election Day, we are committed to preserving a safe and civil environment for everyone.”

Among the scheduled events at Manhattan College was “An Hour of Unity,” held on Nov. 14 at 5 p.m., for all students to gather on the steps of Smith Auditorium in solidarity. 

“The recent election and its results have fractured our country,” the Manhattan College website said of the event. “We, at Manhattan College, in line with our value of having an inclusive community, want to ensure that our campus does not become divided as well.”

On Nov. 16, Henry Enten, one of the marquee political columnists for FiveThirtyEight.com, will discuss the outcome and the results of the election in Hayden 100 at 5 p.m.

Despite the forums being hosted by Manhattan College, Ms. Roth said she wished the email from Mr. O’Donnell went further in protecting people of color, women and Muslims on  campus.  

Our school is not doing anything to really stop it, because, yeah, we are having these open dialogues about how we feel, but at the end of the day we can get around and sing Kumbaya but we’re not directly telling the people – the minorities and women on this campus – that they are safe and should feel safe,” she said.

Anthony Capote is a student at Manhattan College and staff writer for The Press.

Donald Trump, Manhattan College, Harry Enten, Election 2016, Anthony Capote

Comments