As the semester draws to a close, students hunker down to write final papers and prepare for exams. We look forward to leaving campus — perhaps because we are heading home or simply to another place, anywhere that is not here. Snow is starting to fall, and stick, and the tension that comes with exam season feels somewhat mediated by the faith that the holidays will soon arrive. In so many ways, the campus feels situated on an edge of an annual turn. Viewing the space that opens ahead of us gives rise to many different feelings.
In light of the recent national election, we might agree that climate change and environmentalism will not be a top priority come 2017. This is not to say that the climate will be ignored completely.
I woke up in a state of stunned horror the morning after Donald Trump became President-elect: The States elected a man who is accused of multiple accounts of sexual assault and is an inspiration for growing white nationalist movements. To take my mind off of things, I decided to pick up the Amherst Student to read the opinion section. As I turned the pages of the newspaper, I saw a “Birthright” ad, which is always extremely uncomfortable for me to see as an Arab, especially because it tries to make Game of Thrones jokes.
We, Divest Amherst, stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, in support of their struggle for sovereignty and against the continued extraction of fossil fuels.
In light of the recent election and where Amherst stands in its history with diversity, allyship has never been more pertinent. There are individuals at this college who have been scarred by racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-semitism, classicism, religious discrimination, xenophobia, etc. for most, if not all of their lives. There are also individuals on this campus who have never experienced any of those oppressions.
To my white - particularly straight and male, friends - who have stressed the importance of compassion, understanding and forgiveness in the wake of this election, as a means of becoming a less divided country:
As a person passionate about politics and government, I can understand and even appreciate your sentiment. However, as a woman of color and first generation immigrant, I’m also having a lot of difficulty accepting it.
A week ago, Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States of America. Our campus reacted that night, and we continue to react in different ways every day. The feeling on campus remains somber. As we prepare for the peaceful transition of power and what the next four years might entail, it’s important to first consider the ways Amherst College, as an institution, has facilitated or stifled student discourse on the new government.
