By Gavin Arucan | Staff Writer
What are your thoughts on the anti-Trump protests that have taken the nation recently?
Kona Dias
Major: Liberal Arts with intent toward Astronomy
“Okay. People, let me tell you this. You have to get over yourselves. This is a democracy. I understand that Donald Trump won and Hillary Clinton lost. You can protest peacefully, but for the violent protesters out there: it’s time to get a life. It’s time to get a job. That’s for the violent protestors, but for the peaceful protesters, keep protesting, I encourage you. That’s part of of your rights, you know, to protest. It’s part of the first Amendment, exercise your freedom of speech. But, for the Hillary Clinton supporters and the ones that are against Donald Trump: Donald Trump is not that bad if you think about it. He didn’t get into office yet, let’s see what happens because every President that got into office doesn’t follow through exactly what he said during his campaign. It’s just all rhetoric. Eventually he’ll become pragmatic. In the campaign he always had to excite his base, but that’s just human nature.”
Edward Gao
“While I understand the anger behind the prospect of a Trump presidency, I believe it is inappropriate to protest about him being elected as POTUS. Although the election result may not be what most people wanted, as reflected by popular vote counts, Donald Trump was still elected as president fair and square through the electoral college system; protesting against the election results would essentially be protesting against democracy itself. Even though a majority of Americans do not approve of the election result, people should still support the election result of the country’s electoral system regardless of which party or candidate they support, as the result still does reflects the voice of a large portion of the electorate. This election also shows that it is indeed possible for a candidate who did not spend the most money to win the presidency, and is a testament to the resiliency of this country’s checks and balances set in place for the government. Yes, the president-elect did not win the popular vote, but that does not invalidate the voices of those who did vote for Trump. If there is anything wrong with this election that is worth protesting about, it is not the result itself, but flaws in the system. People should be protesting about voter suppression, gerrymandering, Citizens United, and perhaps even the electoral college itself. Now that Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States without support of the popular vote, exposing a United States that is not as united as previously thought, we should be asking ourselves what does that tell about our systems of governance, and perhaps more importantly, what does that tell about us?”
Vanessa Ranon
Major: Liberal Arts going into Nursing
“For the most part with the whole thing that’s going on with the rally, it’s people’s opinion. It’s not really harming anyone. It’s more of just informing the public of one side. Everyone has there own opinion, but some people are more passionate about their opinion than others. But at least with the protest going on in Waikiki, it’s not harmful. It’s more informative than anything, so it’s good in my opinion.”
Natalie Maldomado
Major: Communications
“I think that as long as they are peaceful, they’re fine. We’ve had protests in the past. All throughout history, protests have been happening, so as long as it’s peaceful, with people with their signs, it’s good. Riot is where I would draw the line. When things get violent, that’s when the protest turns into a riot and it’s no longer peaceful nor respected.”
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