Press "Enter" to skip to content

After election, students show ‘love trumps hate’

Students gather for a peaceful protest on Olin Quad Wednesday after the results of the presidential election were announced in the early morning. photo by Maddie Gehling
Students gather for a peaceful protest on Olin Quad Wednesday after the results of the presidential election were announced in the early morning.
photo by Maddie Gehling

Junior Chris Dolphin sat on the quad for the majority of Wednesday after the election with a group of friends and classmates. He spread a number of blankets on the ground and spoke kind words to anyone who joined him.

But there was one thing in particular he wanted to offer.

“Love,” Dolphin, a public relations major, said. “We came out here because we want to provide support today and in the future. We want to get dialogues going, plan events and really just foster that environment of love.”

After the election was called early Wednesday morning – and Republican candidate Donald Trump was elected as the 45th President of the United States – Dolphin said he began to worry for a number of his friends and how they might have been feeling.

“A lot more [people] in the United States are terrified and worried about their futures,” he said. “There’s a sickening irony in the fact that there were people that were afraid for America’s future [Tuesday], and the knots in their guts stopped when Donald Trump was elected.”

Aamir Mitchell, a junior journalism major, joined Dolphin on the quad to promote peaceful conversation and invite others to the safe space.

“As black people at a predominantly white institution, we can’t afford to walk alone anymore,” Mitchell said. “We don’t know what closet racists are out there that will reveal themselves because Trump is president. That’s a legitimate fear of all minorities now that this guy is our president, because this homophobic, racist guy who went bankrupt however many times, this might reflect on communicating to children that these things are OK to do.”

Mitchell said he was concerned about the backlash people of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, women, and a number of other minorities may receive during Trump’s presidency.

“Nothing good can come from this,” Mitchell said. “[Trump] doesn’t speak for me, and I just want to get out there and let people know I’m protesting these election results.”

Other students said they were disappointed because they felt some people weren’t taking the election results seriously.

 “I’m more frustrated than angry, especially because people were choosing to make jokes and memes last night,” Cori Wash, a freshman theatre arts major, said. “And people chose [Trump] to run a country, and he can’t even run himself … You wanted change, and you voted for Trump.”

Wash said people she knows have already begun to take measures in reaction to the election results.

“I know people who have left the country and people who are now worried about having to leave,” Wash said. “I’m petrified for my family. My father cried; my father doesn’t cry … Being black in America is really hard right now.”

Senior theatre arts major Derek Baunach said while he is disappointed in the election results, he’s trying to be hopeful for the future.

“I think if we create an environment of love and support, we can head in an OK direction,” he said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m worried for the safety of [minority] men, women and children.”

While students at other colleges – such as Michigan State University and Illinois State University – are mobilizing, Dolphin and his fellow peaceful protestors are looking to set up more support gatherings in the near future.

Copyright © 2023, The Scout, Bradley University. All rights reserved.
The Scout is published by members of the student body of Bradley University. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University.