“We elected a fascist,” said Central Oregon Community College student Dilon Multop. Long have elections been sources of contention in the United States, but the most recent presidential election was in many ways one of the biggest in American history. Over half of the country’s eligible voting population was accounted for; 156,302,318 votes. Central Oregon Community College effectively serves as a Petri dish for the community, reflecting the many cultures, backgrounds, and politics of Central Oregon. The Broadside gathered students’ thoughts on President Donald Trump, in hopes of reflecting these wide ranging views.
President Trump has been in office for less than a fortnight and already has made sweeping changes, ranging from renaming America’s tallest mountain to overturning a 1965 executive order concerning anti-discrimination in federal government employment. It was unexpected to see students’ reflect a higher than anticipated leftist trend in the student body; more students were much less reticent to discuss their criticism of Trump rather than those who aligned with his views.
Unexpected as Central Oregon does remain decisively split Democratic-Republican, evidenced by the recent rock painting on NW College Way with the remark “Trump Country” effaced. Moreover, both before and after the election chalk drawings could be found throughout Bend’s COCC campus; a heart with “Donald J. Trump” inside.
All of this to say, students have shared very strong opinions on the new U.S. president. In addition to denouncing President Trump as a fascist, Multop also communicated concerns of Trump’s promised deportation of illegal immigrants.
“What do you think deporting 20 million immigrants looks like? How are they gonna get there, where are they gonna live?” Multop said.
At the time of writing this, reported by ABC, as many as 5,000 have been detained in San Diego, Calif. and El Paso, Texas, awaiting deportation.
COCC Student Mary Hanley spoke on the government system’s failings and precedent set in place by Trump’s presidency. “A felon cannot be eligible to run for president,” but it wasn’t simply Trump, Hanley spoke on, but Elon Musk as well. “A billionaire… Elon Musk, that’s supposedly in office, shouldn’t be allowed to either.”
Hanley took issue with a multi-billionaire holding influence in the White House. With Musk’s acquisition of X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022, he was able to promote heavily right-leaning news and subsequently sway the election at large.
Lidya Harms, working toward becoming a registered nurse and staying at COCC’s Wikiup Hall, was transparent on the extent of Trump’s influence affecting her as a Black woman attending a predominantly white institution. She had this to say;
With the presidency of Donald Trump comes a rise in entitled attitude, Harms explains, one that pervades throughout COCC. It wasn’t simply microaggressions or racial insults Harms was targeted to, but she had reportedly even seen a student leaving Wickiup Hall in blackface. This is an offensive and outdated act meant to mock Black Americans via making your entire face the color brown.
Though there are many who abstain from both the discussion nor belief in politics, it’s clear from this account that politics isn’t simply competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power but something real, something that is appearing to affect already marginalized groups of people in the United States now more than ever.
However, Harms also had positive messages to share, of not letting the negativity or hatred from others affect self worth. Observing these issues and moving along. She expressed that if more people just accepted and understood that everyone has personal matters going on, COCC would be an even better institution.
Students holding moderate views were also spoken to. Benja Owach, pre-med major at Oregon State University Cascades in partnership with COCC, espoused his belief in moderation, explaining that politics is a game to be played; it is business. Human beings are not business, we are people. “Think individually but as we,” Owach maintained. Thinking as a collective, Owach adds that, “Politics only distract us from what’s important,” he finally implores us as a people to think as a world, thinking of others alongside us.
Owen Otani, seeking a transfer degree at COCC, remarked on the heightened polarity witnessed in politics as of late, saying, “I don’t think the United States has ever been more divided, more politically charged than in the last 15 years,” Otani credited this change to Donald Trump’s arrival to the political stage in 2016, in which he galvanized many American citizens to believe his extreme philosophies. Another student’s response coincides with this,“I think it speaks to society that we want more polarizing people in power that promise to change things dramatically.”
Owen Shultz, a forestry major, adds further to the conversation of this schism in the American people. “When you divide the population it gives the government more control and power to give out more misinformation and disinformation,” citing how difficult it is to “find unbiased information.”
Another student, majoring in engineering, holds the sentiment, “I just hope everything goes well, I guess. People stay safe, don’t get mistreated for what or who they are, ” This reflects the real possibility of hate crimes spiking once again as it did in 2017 by as much as 17 percent, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The growing civil unrest was also evidenced by the 2021 United States Capitol Attack, perpetrated by more than 1,500 Americans.
This student also added concerns about their family, especially those younger, “When he [Trump] got elected my first thought was my four year old cousin who’s a girl and the America she’s gotta to grow up in,” with many civil liberties being threatened for women, this student’s implied question is valid, what lies in the future for the next generation?
This marks the beginning of a new era in American history, the beginning of this presidency, with much more to come. Opinions have been shown to reflect their fears, along with their animosity, but the uneasiness of students is clear. Uncertain times continue, but even amongst the chaos society can prevail, with time, patience, and compassion.
“Sure I do want to help others…[but] Trump is a businessman…as long as it [his presidency] benefits me or my education I don’t really care,” said Eddie Peña, a pre-med major student.
