Immediately following the presidential election of 2016, the student body was split between those who supported Hillary Clinton and those who supported President-Elect Donald Trump. Many Trump supporters at Wilde Lake felt categorized, silenced, and stereotyped.

A Wilde Lake sophomore who comes from a Trump-supporting family felt the heat around the results.  “There are a lot of people who are angry over the way that the election turned out,” said the sophomore.  

“[The] violence, fires, and riots [that have been] occurring, [were not present] eight years ago when President Barack Obama was elected. I feel that people aren’t giving Trump a chance to prove himself, so I think we need to hold on a bit longer and see what happens,” said the sophomore.

A junior here at Wilde Lake is concerned with the way the media portrayed Trump as a candidate. “The media and America aren’t focused on the positivity Donald Trump can bring to America,” said the junior. “Trump has said that he won’t prosecute Hillary Clinton and has cancelled all of his plans to to register Muslims. He’s built an empire from a one million dollar loan and has made it into a three billion dollar [business.]”

Still, the sophomore admits to the flaws of Donald Trump. “There are a lot of things Trump has done and said that make him very unfit for presidency.” The junior has a similar view saying, “He’s done a lot of things that nobody in a professional aspect should [do].” However, they both believe in Trump’s central message.

Another sophomore who attends Wilde Lake feels like it’s time for America to give Trump a chance. “If he does terribly, let’s kick him out in 2020,” said the sophomore. “He’s only in office for four years, not a lifetime.”

“I support Trump, but I don’t feel like I can say it here,” said the sophomore. “At this school, we need to respect other’s opinions, even if they’re different from our own.”

Principal LeMon wants students to feel that they can express their opinions peacefully. “No one should feel like they can’t talk about their views,” said Principal LeMon. “At this school, we want to give everyone a safe place to be able to talk about their political views.”