With everything going on about the elections, emotions are taking over. The night Trump was announced as president-elect was tough, not only for me but for many of my peers.
I got to experience everyone reactions living in the dorms. Reactions from people who come from different backgrounds and political views. After reading and listening to Trump's win, I stepped off campus with my friends to cleanse with some sage. We heard students yelling and playing YG's popular song "FDT."
As we came back on campus, large groups of students begin trickling out of their dorms, ready for whatever was about to happen. Whatever it was, I wasn't quite sure.
But I was sure of one thing: many of our emotions were everywhere. Some of us were probably still in shock. We marched to Smith & Carlos Lawn, and continued to speak on our feelings. Although it was great that students spoke out, there were a good chunk of students who still viewed this as a joke. Some people were more concerned about the fact that marijuana was now legal in California. Memes broke out on social media, students were making stupid and unnecessary comments and people wanted to get violent.
Personally, I believe violence is not the answer. Yes, seeing everyone get together that night and express themselves was great, but there was still a lot of bickering going on that shouldn't have happened.
The next day was a horrible experience. I had never felt such bad vibes,such low energy from students on campus ever. I have never cried as many times as I did in one day. I attended two safe spaces sponsored by two student organizations I am a part of. I cried at both of them. I cried for those who expressed the amount of fear they have, cried for those who have ALREADY been attacked, cried for the children who have to grow up in this country, cried for my own fear.
But from listening to all this I gained so much.
We came together to organize and figure out what the next steps were. A student asked us the point of our organizing. Why couldn't we just accept it, because protesting wasn't going to do anything.
To me protesting is necessary.
We need to voice our feelings in a non-violent way. We need to be able to fight for our freedom. For our rights, for the rights of those who are seen as minorities. It is not okay to stay silent when we, as minorities, are ALWAYS silenced. ALWAYS living in the shadows. We protest and organize not only for ourselves but for those who CAN'T. For the children, for five-year-olds who are living in fear when they SHOULDN'T.
So please, keep fighting. Keep striving to succeed. Take a stand and support each other, because now that's all we've got.
