As a result of all the emotions students and staff have expressed due to the results of the election, administration and student leaders put together a student voices discussion after school on November 14, where students were encouraged to freely share their thoughts and opinions about the outcome of the election and other things going on within the county.

“We decided to have a student circle discussion because a lot of students at Wilde Lake were experiencing many emotions because of the outcome of the election,” said Mrs. Foyles. “Students needed a safe place to share their feelings and come up with solutions to help make Wilde Lake and Howard County more diverse and accepting.”

Senior Taylor Thomas attended the voices discussion. “With so much of our school being made up of minorities, it is crucial that we do not create a toxic environment where our students feel as though they aren’t welcome. We should celebrate our diversity. It is disrespectful for anyone to make racist comments or anything of that nature, not just in our bubble of diversity at Wilde Lake but anywhere,” said Taylor. “Trump has made racist and stereotypical comments which serves as a catalyst for others with a similar mentality to voice their racist opinions.”

Some students weren’t sure what was going to happen at the student voices discussion because they felt that it might be more argumentative and that Trump supporters would be outnumbered by Clinton supporters.

“Before I went to the student voices circle, I thought that it would be students protesting and not listening to students with opposing views but, it wasn’t like that at all. I felt included and I actually enjoyed it,” said freshman Daniel Walker.

Misbah Farooqi, SGA President, organized the event. “The student voices circle allowed us to talk about problems instead of ignoring them,” said Misbah. “I feel like now that we’ve been able to talk out our differences and concerns. We will be able to start making changes and making things better for students who have been having concerns.

Students brainstormed ideas in order to make Wilde Lake more inclusive and accepting to our diverse student body. Some ideas included having more days like Culture Day where students could learn about and experiencing the different cultures that make up Wilde Lake. Some students and teachers also felt like having another discussion would benefit students. They would like to have one during the school day so more students could attend.

Another organizer, Alan Garcia, felt the event was a success. “I really enjoyed the student voices discussion because I was finally able to share how I felt with people who shared the same concerns and were ready to listen,” said Alan. “I would love to do something like this again.”