To Those of You Who are Disappointed With the Outcome of the Election

I have kept quiet this election season. I have actively chosen not to share my opinion on social media. As my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds are exploding with negative, hateful sentiment, I cannot remain silent anymore.

I might get attacked for writing this, but I beg that you hear me out. While I do not wholeheartedly support Trump – and I certainly do not support Clinton, the response to this election has been disappointing and discouraging.

I acknowledge your right to be upset, but I do not appreciate your rude and hateful comments directed towards myself and my peers. I do not appreciate being condemned in my school for holding certain beliefs.

I do not appreciate feeling silenced and unworthy in my classes, where I should be allowed to freely express my opinion. So while you go off and riot and threaten to leave the country, while you say you are ashamed to live in America, I will wait.

I will wait until we can come together – liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, man and woman, black, white and otherwise – and change America for the better. I will wait until we can overcome the results of an election and have the dignity to respect one another, despite our political views.

America was established to be ruled with the consent of the governed. This was a democratic election. America spoke. I’m sorry you feel upset, and I truly am sympathetic towards your sadness.

My hopes are that we will overcome this negative sentiment and join together and make the best of the next four years. The power lies in our hands.

-Junior Jakob Bolman

A Loss of Faith in America

I am extremely disappointed and shocked at the results of this election.  It is so disappointing that almost half of the voting population believes that Donald Trump–a racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist bigot–is actually suitable to run this huge country.  Honestly, I am appalled that Trump even made it this far. It’s worrying to me that this man can spread hate so easily in so many people.

I was in a bad mood on Wednesday simply because of the election results.  Clinton had worked so hard and was fighting for so many things I agreed with, and now all of that is going to waste because a bigot is in charge of the country.  I was actually quite shocked that Clinton didn’t win.  I was very frustrated that all of the polls were wrong–I felt like I had been tricked.

I had more faith that the people of the United States would realize the clear better choice, but I guess they don’t think the same way as I do.  In fact, almost 60,000,000 people don’t agree with me.  This is a scary premonition of the America that we live in.  So many people will and are being affected by Trump’s hate, but I’m glad I live in a community where most millennials realize that Clinton was the better choice.

What really makes me the most angry is the ever-present double standard during this election process.  All people can focus on is Clinton’s emails and Benghazi, etc etc, but then they simply brush off all of the horrible things Trump has said.  The double standard is too clear, and it really frustrates me.

So Trump wants to make America great again.  I hope he can.  If he doesn’t, well–the American people will get what we deserve.

-Freshman Athena Grasso

A Failure of Values and Education

The main impact of the election on myself and on this country will be the legacy left in the sociopolitical atmosphere.  The notion that the values, or lack thereof, represented by our now president-elect represent those of the American people is an insult to the American education system, which has failed to instill a respect for truth, as well as American cultural values, which have failed to instill respect for others.

-Junior Daniel Mishins

Insulter-in-Chief

I was surprised by the results of the 2016 election. Although Trump won a few states early in the night, I was confident that Hillary Clinton would catch up and ultimately win. The polls had predicted that Hillary Clinton would win by a significant margin.

I’m disappointed with the results of the election considering that I have supported Hillary Clinton throughout the entire campaign. I believe Hillary Clinton is more qualified to be President due to her experience as a lawyer, Senator and Secretary of State. Trump does not have experience in any kind of public office, and he has made comments and insulted countless groups of people, including immigrants, women, people of different races and people with disabilities.

What Trump has said is not something that I can forget about easily. My parents are immigrants, and Trump has insulted immigrants and people of different races, while most immigrants come to the U.S. to have a better life and contribute positively to the country. Donald Trump does not have the right to insult any race or group of immigrants.

I am also disappointed with the election because if Hillary Clinton won, she would be the first female president, which would have been a major milestone in our history.

-Freshman Prerna Mukherjee

A Stronger Leader

I strongly believe that Trump won’t do some of the impulsive and controversial things he said like “making Mexico pay for the wall” or “banning all Muslims.” I also strongly believe that Trump will be a stronger leader than Obama by making more decisive actions that will benefit the economy and American security.

Despite all the positive that I believe he will do, Donald Trump isn’t my first choice because he has no political experience. I would have preferred a different Republican candidate like Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz because they have far more political experience and are vastly more mature.

Overall, I’m glad there was a Trump victory, and I feel that we, the Americans, will be somewhat safer. One thing that seems beneficial with Donald Trump is that we may have a solid alliance with Russia and Putin, meaning there will be more collaboration to deal with terrorism and other world threats.

-Freshman Tyler Pohlman

I’m Sad

I’m sad that the American people chose a sexist, racist bigot as our president. I’m sad that our nation now reflects all the negative things that this man has said. I’m said that minorities feel inferior and women feel unsafe. I’m sad that little girls have to grow up under the presidency of a man who believes they don’t deserve respect.

I don’t understand. I don’t understand how we could elect a man that said he could murder someone in cold blood and he wouldn’t lose any votes. How did we vote for someone who mocked a disabled reporter, who insulted a gold star family of a fallen soldier and who claimed he could sexually assault a woman because of his fame. He is morally corrupt. He is unfit for president, but there he is.

This man divides us, literally and figuratively. He separates us by race and sex. He wants to separates us with a wall. A nation who prides itself in equality elects a man who degrades others.

-Junior Gabriela Rodriguez

We Don’t Need a President to Push Us Back

The results of this election season made me feel the most disappointed, sad and afraid that I have felt in a very long time. Hillary was going to win. I thought it, I believed it and I was convinced of it. But seeing this racist, xenophobic, childish sexual harasser rise from the joke of the candidates to the 45th president of the United States has left me rattled and shell-shocked.

Hillary Clinton was so qualified to be our president that she was overqualified. Despite Trump’s claims that she has wasted her time in Washington, Hillary’s thirty years in politics dwarfed his one year literally thirty times over. The fact that an unqualified white male can win the presidential race over a woman who should have gotten the easy majority just shows how much white male supremacy still reigns.

I’m afraid to grow up in a country he leads. I’m afraid that my rights will be taken away, including the right to make decisions about my own body. I’m afraid that he will push our country back years and years.

He wants to make America great again, but when was that great time? Was it the 60s, when African Americans were discriminated beyond belief? Was it the 80s, when the economy crashed under Reagan? Was it the early 20th century, when women weren’t even allowed to vote? We have worked so hard to get to where we are today, and we don’t need our president to push us back.

This was not a normal election. The major issues weren’t only taxes and jobs. Our fundamental rights are at stake. This is a man who has bragged about sexually assaulting women and who has been accused by over ten different women of sexual harassment. That’s never happened before with another candidate, and it’s a problem. I have to keep an open mind, because it’s how our election system works, but as a woman, I just can’t bring myself to support him.

-Junior Lily Steiger

An Impulsive and Radical Man

Last night, I tuned in to the election coverage at exactly 7:00 p.m., anxious to find out who would be my president for the next four years, leading me into adulthood. Though I wasn’t fond of either candidate, my support went to Hillary Clinton, as she has much more political experience than the unsuccessful businessman, Donald Trump, and her views, policies and promises were much more realistic and generally beneficial to the country as a whole.

Unfortunately, I was one of the many disappointed people to see that Hillary Clinton was losing, tremendously. Though the election went on for hours, going into the morning, I knew at 9:00 p.m. that the election was over when Trump won Ohio and Florida, and North Carolina, all important swing states that candidates rarely lose while still being able to pull off winning the presidency.

With Donald Trump as president, our country is taking a huge step in the wrong direction. While I may agree with some of his political views, he is a novice to politics, and a very impulsive and radical man. There is no way he will be able to hold our country together, and I fear how this will affect our international relationships.

-Junior Lakala Stewart

We Must Respect Our New President

From the beginning I didn’t like either Trump or Hillary, so it didn’t really matter to me. I thought  they were both bad choices, but America has spoken and now we have a new president.  We must respect our new president and respect that the American people have made their choice.  I hope that one day a different woman will be able to become our first woman president.  I wasn’t too upset that Hillary Clinton wasn’t the first woman president, but I do hope that one day we see a woman in office.  I also believe that people need to put their opinions aside, and we need to come together as a country.  Our country needs to be united so we can move on.

-Senior Cameron Umpleby

Time For a President Who Really Cares

I am pretty disappointed from the results of the election. Despite all of Hillary’s mistakes, she has a pretty impressive resume.

Seeing Trump win makes me realizes that America isn’t as good as I thought it was.

In the more populated and more diverse places, Hillary won easily; however, in the more rural areas that are less diverse, Trump won. Polls showed that the majority of his voters were white, uneducated males.

Also, comedian Louis C.K. put it in words that really impacted me.

“We’ve had 44 fathers in the office. We need to have a mother in the office.”

This really stuck out to me because of his point that Hillary would care for the U.S. like a mother.

-Junior Zach Zhang