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FOUR YEARS JULIA HARTH/THE DAILY

Hundreds of students, faculty and staff march down the South Oval in the #BlackOUt march Wednesday. Participants gathered together as a response to Donald Trump’s election.

Students unite in wake of Trump presidency

s OU students of various races, ethnicities, religions and sexual orientations gathered on the steps of Dale Hall early Nov. 9, they wept, hugged and shouted in search of support. They sought peace, unity and strength in the wake of the election of Donald John Trump, a man whose detractors say he has consistently marginalized and devalued minorities. Dressed in black and accented with swollen eyes, Barbara Menchaca was one of hundreds to consider what this would mean for her friends, her family and herself. “I’m here because of my parents. I’m here fulfilling my American dream because of them, and for him to call them rapists and criminals is just appalling and not true in any sense,” said Menchaca, who is a person of color. “He promotes hate towards my kind, towards my skin color, towards many different skin colors and ethnicities and religions, and it’s not OK. As a president, you’re supposed to unite everybody, not tear them apart.” Early Wednesday morning, Trump became the president-elect with no prior experience in government or in the military — but that is hardly the most notable thing about him. He has been accused of sexual assault and admitted to dodging income taxes. He has insulted at least 282 people, places and things on Twitter. He has criticized the media. He was shown on video bragging about sexual assault and has boasted that some women were not attractive enough for him to sexually assault. He called Mexicans rapists, mocked a disabled journalist and threatened to put Hillary Clinton in jail.

SPENSER DAVIS • @DAVIS_SPENSER And in the election, he surpassed the required 270 electoral college votes. “I’m not proud to be an American right now,” said Sadie Gorham, a white freshman who has not yet decided her major. “It brought me to tears … The past two elections, we had our first black president, which is phenomenal. It shows how far we’ve come, but with us voting for Donald Trump, we’re regressing. He’s the epitome of regression.” Gorham was one of hundreds of students searching for answers on OU’s South Oval Wednesday. While comforting for some, the demonstration and ensuing march did little to change the outcome. Trump won the election fairly, but many minority communities felt it was at their expense. “That’s what this whole demonstration was about,” said public relations junior and SGA presidential candidate J.D. Baker, who spoke to the crowd and led the march up the South Oval. “It’s about finding a place within our communities. We had a lot of different people here because there’s a lot of intersection on this campus. There’s many students who are not just black or just Muslim. They’re black and Muslim or they’re Muslim and queer — there’s a lot of intersectionality between all these people. It’s about finding a place within each other and within our own circles.” It was not just minorities who joined the march, though. White students, straight students, Christian students, able-bodied students and others stood with their peers, wondering what to do next. “For me, this will not change a lot of my way of life,” said drama senior Austin Reid, who identifies

as a white man. “But it will change the ways of life for people that I love. I’m a member of the school of drama. We have one of the most diverse student populations on campus. People that I love and consider family are going to be adversely affected, potentially, by this presidency. “Part of that is what hurts. It’s this mix of helplessness and ‘What do I do?’” Reid said. Gorham echoed Reid’s frustration with an impending Trump administration. “I have family of color, I have friends of color,” Gorham said. “So I’m going to advocate for them. I’m going to stand up for them. “That also influences me to stand

“I’m not proud to be an American right now.” SADIE GORHAM, FRESHMAN

up for these people and to stand up for my people … And what us white people need to do, what we need to do is stand with them. We need to let them know, ‘Hey, I don’t understand your struggles, but I’m going to be here to support you. I’m going to be here to help you.’ That’s all we can do,” Gorham said While demonstrators took time to pray on Wednesday afternoon, others walked past on their way to class, work or other commitments. Most stayed silent. A few celebrated. In an environment focused on community, it was a reminder that not all OU students were disappointed with the election’s result.

When factoring in the entire state, Trump carried 65 percent of the vote. “I’m amazed right now. It still hasn’t hit me,” said Victor Reyes, a public relations senior and president of the OU College Republicans. “Seeing the interviews, people calling him ‘President-elect Trump,’ it’s unreal, it really is. I was expecting a madam president.” Reyes, who is Hispanic, said he believes Trump’s words and actions will change now that he has been elected. “I think there’s really nothing to worry about,” he said. “My grandparents were illegal immigrants. I’ve told them on occasion that it doesn’t change the fact that what you did is wrong. I’m glad you did it, but, you know? But I don’t think there’s any need to worry.” When Clinton thanked her supporters and publicly conceded the race Wednesday morning, she urged her voters to be open-minded about a Trump presidency. With his inauguration coming Jan. 20, 2017, that may be a tough pill to swallow for some students, Baker said. “I can’t expect people to come into this with an open mind. How do you have an open mind about a man who jokes about sexually assaulting women? How do you have an open mind about someone who has called you a rapist simply as a virtue of your race or you ethnicity? Absolutely not,” Baker said. “So I don’t blame you if you are reluctant and you are mad and you are angry for the next four years. I don’t blame you. That’s my thing, it’s a deeper than just him being elected. It’s everything that he represents and the people who wanted him and what they represent.”

Initially, treating a Trump presidency with an open mind might be particularly difficult for America’s Muslim population. During his campaign, Trump often called for the ban of all muslim travel to the United States. “What happened last night should not have happened in my opinion, but that does not mean that the Muslim-American community is going to be scared or shy away,” said Amanah Fatima, a microbiology junior. “We’re American first and foremost. “I always grew up with this idea that diversity is what makes us special, and I don’t want to lose that notion. This ethnocentric nationalism that’s being promoted because of Trump’s presidency, I want to believe that America is better than this, but last night I just feel like I lost a lot of my faith in that. It’s so sad to me.” As Baker stood on the steps of Dale Hall, he addressed communities that were hurting. As he shouted, they cheered — and united. “May we find hope, love, comfort and unity in our coalition,” he yelled through applause. “And may we always remember that black lives matter. That Latino and Latina lives matter. That indigenous lives matter. That Asian and Pacific Islander lives matter. That queer lives matter. That people with disabilities, their lives matter. Immigrant lives matter. Muslim lives matter. And hell yes, the lives of our women matter!” Daisy Creager and Andrew Clark contributed to this report. Spenser Davis

davis.spenser@ou.edu

Boren suffers rare defeat with penny tax State Question 779 shot down by Oklahomans despite president’s fight JESSE POUND @jesserpound

The campaign to add a one cent sales tax statewide, led by OU President David Boren, met a

resounding defeat Nov. 8, leaving the future of education funding in Oklahoma uncertain and dealing one of the state’s most towering public servants a rare defeat. State Question 779, which would have raised sales taxes to fund K-12 and higher education in the state, fell by a margin of 59-41. Boren, a former state governor and U.S. Senator, is in his 22nd year as OU’s president

and has long been an advocate for increased education funding from the state government. Boren traveled to towns around the state urging people to vote for the measure. The campaign was ignited amid declining education funding from the state, which reached a tipping point when Gov. Mary Fallin declared a revenue failure in December, leading to mid-year

budget cuts across state agencies. Oklahoma, the state with the lowest annual mean secondary teacher salary, has seen some school districts cut back to four day school weeks in a desperate attempt to save money. Boren, one of Oklahoma’s most decorated politicians, suffered a rare political defeat. “It’s been a lot of years since our president has been governor

and senator, and so many of the legislators that we have now refer to him as President Boren and not Senator Boren and not Governor Boren,” said George Henderson, a professor emeritus who first taught at OU in 1967. “And that somewhat diminishes his clout. He certainly has the relationships and the consee BOREN page 3