As President Trump settles into the White House, we took time to look at how fellow students felt on the recent election through a mini survey. Many students, as expected, were disappointed with the results of the presidential election. It was also uncovered through the survey that many students whose political views didn’t fall in the majority felt as if they were left out or looked down upon.

If the students at OHS could’ve voted, it was found that 60% of the students surveyed would’ve voted for democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, 10% for PresidentTrump, 2 people voted for Jill Stein, 2 for Gary Johnson, 1 for Evan McMullin (Independent), 1 for former President Obama, 1 for Harambe the infamous gorilla, and 2 for a candidate not mentioned.

A third of the students who voted, chose their candidate because they liked their policies and what they stood for, and 7 said that they disliked all of the candidates but they felt that the one they chose would do less harm while in office. A Staggering 23 out of the 30 people surveyed are not happy with the new President, and only two of the students who voted live outside of the United States.

Words like temperamental, racist, sexist, a bigot, impulsive, ignorant, and homophobic were used to describe President Trump. When asked if the president-elect was fit to run a nation, one student* said, “Donald Trump ran a campaign that was rooted in hatred, bigotry, and divisiveness. He made inflammatory comments towards many minority groups in order to garner media attention. He also has no political experience and his “business” record is speckled at best (including instances of bankruptcy, tax evasion, and scams).”

On Trump’s policies, another student said, “I do not like his policy on health care, as it will have very negative effects on middle and lower class people who want health insurance. Furthermore, I strongly dislike his policies on stop and frisk and police brutality, as they are unconstitutional and based on the current policies that are similar, they will have a detrimental effect on lower class and minority communities. In general, I feel that Trump has recently been somewhat vague on his policies, changing many of his policies or refusing to elaborate on them following the election.”

Other policies students don’t like are is plans to build a wall, ban Muslims, overturn Roe v. Wade, and his stance on climate change.

The recent election has also left many students at ohs scared for the future of America. Students not only fear that President Trump’s win may have empowered some of his supporters to commit hate crimes. One student who said,“As a questioning/bisexual guy, I don’t feel safe with someone who’d support Mike Pence in office.”

While many students at the ohs felt uneasy about the new President, but there was also some students on the other side of the spectrum, who support President Trump.

One student said, “I think that Trump is a savvy businessman. Being President of the US is a lot like being the President or CEO of a company. Trump is incredibly competent and surrounding himself with the right people and selecting the right advisors. Our economic woes are disintegrating our nation, and Trump is well positioned to fix the economy. Not to mention, he can manage an email account without putting an entire nation at risk.”

Another student thinks that President Trump will reinforce the element of peace in our country.

Trump supporters within the OHS community are interested to see how his foreign policy plays out. They also like his policies on regulation and order. One student who thought that common core was doing more harm than good, likes his plan to abolish it.

Through this survey, it also became evident that some conservatives were feeling targeted for their beliefs at this school. At times, some even felt that they didn’t belong in the ohs community for their political views. At the end of such a hectic election, the last thing we want is the same divisiveness that has consumed America for the past year at our school. Some recommendations for future conversations are to refrain from talking about any politics in public chats or during class, and if you really want to discuss, to taking it to a private chat would be helpful in making sure that all or students opinions are valued.

After this tumultuous past year that left the country divided on it’s future, I think there is one thing that all ohs students can agree on; we are glad it’s over, and ready to move on.

*students mentioned in this article will remain anonymous for privacy reasons

Categories: Current Events, Opinion