“The people, united, will never be divided”
By Grace Carballo ‘17
The following recounts what I have seen, experienced, and/or feel is worth our attention since election night on November 8. From despair to hope to frustration to disgust to fear to empowerment to love and everything in between, I’ve felt a lot, but most of all I’ve felt grateful for and inspired by the people taking action.
(above: Untitled by Barbara Krugar)
I’ve seen USC professors be so open with and empathetic towards students reeling from the results of the election and unable to focus on anything else, and I’ve seen fellow students come together to support one another and protest bigotry and ignorance on campus and on a broader scale in downtown LA.
But, I’ve also heard heartbreaking stories of hate and bigotry directed at the very groups that Trump degraded in his campaign - Latinxs, blacks, women, Muslims, LGBT people, the list goes on. And our campus is, unfortunately, no exception.
ELECTION NIGHT
Last week was a difficult week for many and a divisive week for all Americans. As some incredible “nasty women” and I watched the results come in state by state, the mood shifted. For the first time, I began to seriously consider the possibility of a Trump presidency and what that would mean.
We watched CNN but were getting quicker confirmations from Twitter. “Florida went red.” Most of us aren’t from California and had mailed in our ballots a week in advance, putting our own little dent in that highest glass ceiling.
Then, we saw Iowa go to Trump and I thought back to when I visited my relatives there for the caucus and how we went to hear a number of Republican candidates speak live. I wouldn’t have had quite the sinking feeling I did if these states were going red for Carly Fiorina or John Kasich or even Jeb Bush. But I also heard Trump speak to a packed auditorium there and maybe I should have recognized the real danger then- how when he spoke, people listened, whether his inflammatory remarks held truth value or not. I remember looking around in shock as some guys in front of me gave him a standing ovation for an NRA comment they apparently resonated with.
Back to election night- and the huge disappointment of knowing, being related to, and still loving so many people who voted for a candidate who personified ignorance, sexism, and bigotry. Even if the swing states go blue, Thanksgiving is going to be really heated. The memes were one of the few positives to come out of this election cycle, and some particularly well done ones circulating between my friends from home and my USC friends kept my tears at bay. Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. And then the (heart) “breaking news” of Hillary’s concession call. Donald J. Trump is the President-elect.
Post-Election USC
After a restless, tearful night, I got up on Wednesday to go to my 8:30 class, until I heard from a friend that Hillary’s concession speech would start right around then. Together, we watched the huge screens in New Annenberg as Hillary Clinton poignantly addressed all those who had supported her on this long journey and believed in or depended on her victory. I didn’t cry until she got to this part:
And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me, I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.Now, I – I know – I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but some day someone will and hopefully sooner than we might think right now.
And – and to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.
As she finished her speech we went our separate ways, to class and to work, and the day was relatively normal. Some of my friends told me that their professors postponed their exams, as many students found it impossible to study. One of my friends told me her TA cried while addressing the class regarding the election results. Some of the students I tutor said their professor acknowledged at the beginning of the lecture her disappointment with the results summarizing, “Well, I’m a woman, an immigrant, and I teach about climate change...”
Other USC students wore their “Make America Great Again” hats and t-shirts triumphantly. Some of them expressed how targeted they felt by their disapproving peers for their pro-Trump beliefs.
Some classes, like my Global Studies Senior Seminar, engaged in productive discussions about next steps we can all take post-election. Other professors acted as though the election had never even happened- business as usual- You have 50 minutes to answer 40 questions. Put everything away except your blue books.
My 8:30 AM professor responded to my lecture absence very empathetically but not all students were met with such compassion and understanding that Wednesday. As I stated in my post on the Black Lives Matter panel, two USC students were called the n-word last week:
As I write this post, Carol’s status has over 290 shares and over 1,100 reactions on Facebook. A similar incident was reported by another black USC student who wished for anonymity- she was harassed by a man wearing a Trump t-shirt. #NOTMYUSC has been the response to this racism and @notmyusc on Twitter has become a digital forum for marginalized people.
I hope that you never will have to use this information, but I feel it’s important to be aware of: If you witness or experience any discrimination on campus, USC has a bias reporting process you can follow so action can be taken.
Another post caught my eye post-election- one that was shared in a group myself and many USC students are a part of, Free and For Sale (usually used for trading or selling things like furniture, books, and football tickets but sometimes used to get an important message across to the thousands of members):
Obviously the people who voted for Trump did so for a reason- something he promised during his campaign resonated with them. I know objectively good people who voted for Trump. But it’s still not fair to those people who are legitimately afraid of the repercussions of Trump’s presidency to merely say “Well I don’t agree with that racist/sexist/xenophobic part of his campaign, he’s just the lesser of two evils.” As Lin concludes in her post, there needs to be some degree of accountability and those in a position of privilege need to use their amplified voices to make sure those who feel threatened know they are not alone.
“Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here.”
I think a lot of people who are upset about the election and have expressed this have met a strong resistance and even been mocked as “sore losers.” I explained to one of my loved ones that this isn’t about my candidate not winning. The way countless people feel right now is not the same feeling conservatives felt when Obama won (or Clinton or Carter, etc.)
It’s about the real fear and hatred that President-elect Trump instilled in his campaign. It’s about the fact that he attacked so many groups of people and that he still got elected. It’s about realizing for Trump to “Make America Great Again,” people I know and love will be silenced.
I messaged my WYSE (Women and Youth Supporting Each Other) mentee after the election to check in with her. She was in 8th grade when I met her and is in high school now- way too young to be genuinely terrified about these kinds of things:
You’re not being a “sore loser” if you are afraid you and your loved ones no longer have a place in this country that is supposed to be your home.
Former USG President, Rini Sampath tweeted the following:
Recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion is an important first step. The next step is signing the letter to USC’s leaders to make USC a sanctuary campus, and then, of course acting on it and keeping them accountable.
“Making USC a sanctuary is a concrete action that USC can take to support and protect the people within our community who are living in extreme fear and uncertainty.”
Several professors, including George Sanchez, Jody Agius Vallejo, Manuel Pastor, Oliver Mayer, Viet Nguyen, and William N. Vela, Director of El Centro Chicano collaborated to send the letter to President Nikias, Provost Quick, and Vice President Carry. You can read the full letter and add your name to the growing list of supporters here.
The Protests
One of the most visible responses against President-elect Trump, his campaign, and his recent appointments are the protests taking place across the country.
Last Thursday, high school students organized a walk-out and protest on USC’s campus. Multiple schools were involved and they coordinated via social media. Some USC students joined them near Tommy Trojan and many were inspired to see young people, the vast majority were too young to vote in the election, taking such a powerful stance on the current state of our country.
There also have been nightly protests downtown Los Angeles following the election. Last Thursday night, a crowd of USC students marched to City Hall from campus for a peaceful protest which turned into a march throughout downtown. Some friends and I joined them at City Hall and I was so happy to see classmates and friends from past semesters amongst the crowds. (Below: USC students march to join protestors at City Hall)
We chanted “Sí se puede” and “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here! and “No KKK, No Fascist USA, No Trump!” (The KKK endorsed Trump and has announced plans to host a victory parade in early December). We marched through streets lined with restaurants and bars and people, many of whom filmed us on their phones. Residents joined us in chanting from their balconies. We stopped traffic. People rolled down their car windows to high-five us or join in the chants. They had impressively good attitudes for being stuck at an intersection for hours, but I think they, too, recognized this was important. My friends and I marched alongside people of all different ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds and I’m happy I was part of it, happy so many of my USC peers were part of it.
There were moments I was a little afraid. We came to a dead halt at one point and I couldn’t see why (5 foot 3 but still growing probably). I asked our much taller new friend, Stef, to check it out but he wasn’t sure either. Somebody in the crowd mentioned tear gas, some people said we should turn back, tensions were high and the confusion was evident. But whatever caused the holdup ended and we marched on peacefully and free of tear gas, luckily. I saw one protestor paint an anti-Trump message on a stopped city bus waiting out the protest and cringed thinking how LAPD and the news would spin this powerful peaceful protest into something much uglier if there was property damage. Since the beginning at City Hall, everyone was very clear that this was a peaceful protest. “We all want to go home safely tonight.”
(Above: crowds gather peacefully at City Hall before marching Thursday night (11/10), while LAPD officers stand by. My phone died immediately after taking this photo so I don’t have any of the march, unfortunately.)
I was so impressed by how everyone came together. “Don’t let them separate you, stick together,” experienced protestors told us. We had to keep gaps from forming so we could continue marching on the streets without the usual flow of traffic. I thought about the women I interviewed for my research in Nicaragua last fall, who told me that public demonstrations are effective because they disrupt the flow of everyday life, forcing citizens to take notice and pay attention. The people in their cars stopped by the protests were definitely paying attention, as were the reporters chasing protestors on the outskirts for a good quote, or residents filming from their balconies several stories up. Someone lit a firework around the corner and a reporter ran up to us, asking if we could confirm we had seen the flash of color, I assume implying she thought the noise may have been a gunshot. It wasn’t.
Shortly after midnight, my friends and I started to walk back to campus, with blistery feet (S/O to my friend who marched in flip flops) and hoarse voices. Dozens of LAPD squad cars, lights flashing, blocked Figueroa on our walk back to campus.
We tried to continue but were stopped. “If you go any further, you’ll be arrested,” an officer said. “Arrested for what? For walking home?” I rebutted because I was pretty hangry and also certain that I couldn’t be arrested for that. “We’ve had reports of destruction of public property,” he said looking us up and down, for what I’m not quite sure. Maybe paint-covered hands or aerosol cans?
There were about ten of us- college-aged, 8 white women, 1 black woman, and 1 black man. I still had my backpack on from school that day because I came straight from campus. We were non-threatening and he had no way of knowing whether we’d come from the protests or not. We didn’t even have a sign or anything- our attendance was pretty spontaneous. “So how do we get back to campus? We go to USC,” we asked relatively agreeably all things considered. He checked the time and sneered, “Oh you’ve already had enough?”
Eventually he agreed to let us go two blocks out of our way and down a less busy, less lit street until we could cut back to Fig closer to campus, because we were uncomfortable walking on the highway. We thanked the officer profusely, though perhaps not sincerely on my part at least.
To get to our detour, we had to walk down an entire block of LAPD officers, visibly armed and in riot gear, lining the sidewalk on both sides and leaving us a narrow walkway. No one said a word, not “Good night,”, not “Get home safely,” not even a reassuring smile.
We talked about how they had regarded us and how their response might have been even less agreeable if our black friends had approached them alone, instead of with a group of white girls. I realized how privileged I was to feel safe even saying something like “Arrest us for what?” to an armed officer. We walked home thinking of that encounter as we saw flashing lights and sirens behind us and helicopters overhead, hoping the remaining protestors got home safely and peacefully, like we had set out to from the very beginning.
The protests didn’t stop there:
On Saturday, 8,000 people protested Trump at MacArthur park.
On Wednesday, UCLA and USC coordinated a walk-out to protest the President-elect, as well.
On Wednesday night, the protests downtown shifted their focus to Trump’s appointment for chief strategist, Steve Bannon, former executive chairmen of Breitbart News, which has published such gems as “There’s No Hiring Bias Against Women in Tech, They Just Suck at Interviews”, “Lesbian Bridezillas Bully Bridal Shop Owner Over Religious Beliefs” and my personal favorite, “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy.” Bannon is also said to have ties with white supremacist groups.
While a number of Trump supporters, both on campus and off campus, have expressed their distaste of protests, I think they are important and essential. Recently, one of my loved ones sent out the following link to an article titled: An Open Letter To All Of The Whiny Safe Space Liberals Crying Over Our ‘Racist’ And ‘Sexist’ Country.
I think the author, who puts sexist and racist in quotes, without a hint of irony, while describing our country and President-elect has a perspective far too privileged and biased to be writing an “open letter.” I also would question the validity of most pieces that come from chicksontheright.com
You see, anyone who is or knows a sexual assault survivor is terrified right now and justifiably so. I posted about this before the election, but it’s even more relevant now: What sort of precedent does this set both for victims coming forward and for repeat offenders of assaults if our own President-elect bragged about forcing himself on women?
I thought the the Washington Post video of Trump boasting about forcing himself on women, without their consent, would be the end of his campaign. Many universities have taken steps to change the campus cultures that perpetuate assault and impunity for perpetrators, given the epidemic of sexual assault on campuses.
“When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything,"
- (Donald J. Trump, 2005)
"Yes, I’m very embarrassed by it. I hate it. But it’s locker room talk, and it’s one of those things. I will knock the hell out of ISIS. We’re going to defeat ISIS. ISIS happened a number of years ago in a vacuum that was left because of bad judgment. And I will tell you, I will take care of ISIS."
- Donald J. Trump, (Debate - Sunday, October 9, 2016)
At first, I was encouraged by the response of Democrats and Republicans alike denouncing Trump’s statements. But their votes a few weeks later didn’t reflect their public outcry.
I joined the protests to show those who feel threatened by Trump’s presidency that though Trump won the electoral votes, he did not win the popular vote. According to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, (at the time of writing this) Clinton currently has 61,964,263 votes compared with Trump’s 60,961,967.
I hope those who feel most vulnerable right now - the undocumented immigrants, their children, Muslims, victims of sexual assault, LGBT people -(spoiler alert: VP-elect Mike Pence is not an ally)- people of color, women, and others- take comfort in the fact that the popular vote and these protests indicate that the majority of voters do not agree with Trump’s rhetoric and that his election can be the catalyst for coalitions of marginalized people and allies to address existing systems of oppression and whatever else he and his team might have in store for us.
He will be our next president, but we the American people are not going to stand idly by if he chooses to be President for only the privileged few Americans he didn’t ignorantly, verbally attack on the campaign trail.
My thesis advisor, a Political Science and Gender Studies professor, had the above quote on her door even before the election. It is our duty to criticize injustice and it is our duty to take action against it.
Jon Stewart recently spoke about how we can’t generalize all people who voted for Trump as racist and as sexist and that’s a fair and valid point. The members of my family who voted for Trump have demonstrated in their everyday actions that they are not hateful nor exclusive.
With this in mind, I encourage those who voted for Trump to use your voices and your privilege to protect those who have lived in fear everyday since last Tuesday. If you voted for him for economic policy reasons, so be it, but do not let your candidate of choice deport or exclude or infringe upon the rights of those who did not or could not vote for him, as you did.
Though many people are upset or even feel targeted by the results of the election, we must look to take concrete action. There are so many different on campus organizations worth joining, as well as local social justice campaigns and non-profits.
A good starting point could be some of the organizations’ posts pictured in this article including: QUASA (Queer and Ally Student Assembly), USC Muslim Student Union, El Centro Chicano, USC Women’s Student Assembly, USC Black Student Assembly, and USC ESA (Environmental Student Assembly).
Also, just to reiterate, you should read and consider adding your name to the Letter to Make USC a Sanctuary Campus and know that if you experience an incident of bias or hate crime that you have resources and that USC does not tolerate that.
The USC Principles of Community state:
Bigotry will not go unchallenged within this community. No one has the right to denigrate another human being on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, national origins, and other identities. We will not tolerate verbal or written abuse, threats, harassment, intimidation, or violence against person or property. In this context, we do not accept alcohol or substance abuse as an excuse, reason, or rationale for such abuse, harassment, intimidation or violence. Ignorance or “it was just a joke” is also not an excuse for such behavior.
It’s unclear what the future will look like, but I truly believe we all can play a role in making it better, more inclusive, and more sustainable.
Fight (injustice/unsustainable practices/racism/sexism/bigotry/xenophobia) on,
Grace Carballo ‘17
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