November 17, 2016
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the same time that Hamilton students were marching down the Hill into Clinton, students at various other NESCAC institutions were organizing their own rallies in response to President-Elect Donald Trump’s upset victory in what was to be a nationwide protest event. More than 400 stu- dents, about a fifth of the student population, gathered at Bates College to express their discontent with the election result and their desire to fight against the discrimination and violence that Trump represents to them. Students walked out of their classes and gathered in front of one of the dining halls to listen to a few speakers before marching throughout the campus and chanting. Bates students expressed that the walkout was important to show solidarity as a nation against oppression as well as cause peace- ful disruption.
More than 600 Amherst College students did the same on their campus, along with Tufts University, Williams College and other schools across the nation. A large focus for Amherst and other schools was protesting Trump’s immigration policies proposed during the campaign. At Amherst, the protest began with remarks from a previously undocumented student on his childhood under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Some Am- herst students are asking their college president to agree to put policies into place that would protect undocumented immigrant students on campus. So far, their adminstration has not agreed or refused.
During an anti-Trump protest on Friday, Nov. 11, some stu- dents at Wesleyan University damaged an American flag by spray painting “AmeriKKKA” on it in reference to their belief that the election was in part a display of white supremacy in the United States. The two students stated to other protestors that they did not wish to burn the flag out of respect for the observance of Vet- eran’s Day that same day. As anti-Trump rallies spread across the nation, especially in cities and on college campuses, there have been multiple incidents of flag-burning taking place as a form of protest. Two Wesleyan students were detained by police for a short time due to creating a “public disturbance” according to local law enforcement, but they were ultimately released.