T

o the man who told me 
to give Donald Trump a 
chance: 

Well hi, how are you? I 

hope you are having a nice 
time ice skating with your 
granddaughter — my friend and 
I were until you reminded us of 
what the majority of Americans 
think is the country’s latest 
blunder. It’s funny that you 
picked us out to talk about 
this. What gave us away? I 
know we fit the demographics 
of Hillary Clinton supporters: 
We 
are 
both 
college-aged 

women and I’m Black, but we 
left our “Stronger Together” 
signs at home. You got us, as 
much as I tried to tone down 
my liberalism to keep everyone 
in the suburbs of Michigan 
calm, you saw right through 
me. You seem like a nice person 
and I appreciate your openness, 
politeness and maturity when 
discussing Donald Trump’s win. 
I am not taking it as well as you 
are. You are happy but I am left in 
a numb and groggy state similar 
to when I got my tonsils removed. 
I am surprised that Trump won 
the election, but I am mainly 
disappointed. “Really,” I think to 
myself on a daily basis, “people 
really chose him?”

Obviously, it is not fair to 

demonize Trump supporters. 
Just because he was endorsed 
by the Ku Klux Klan doesn’t 
mean all of his supporters are 
racist. He makes statements 
that condone sexual assault, but 
not all his supporters agree with 
these remarks. When people 
decide to vote for a candidate, 
they make that decision based 
on many different reasons. The 
importance of the economy, 
national security and other issues 
caused Trump voters to overlook 
his inflammatory remarks.

While racism and sexism 

are issues some people may be 

able to compromise on, for me 
they are not. This is probably 
because I am a Black woman, 
but you do not have to be a 
minority or a woman to realize 
that these issues are serious 
and not something to just write 
off. You may not think about 
these matters as much as I do, 
but if you are at all aware of 
the United States’ history and 
legacy of racism and sexism you 
would pay attention to them. If 
a candidate constantly criticizes 
women in a way that reduces 
them to their appearance, that 
is a major problem. If a grown 
man claims that a president’s 
birth certificate is not valid 
because 
he 
looks 
different 

and has an uncommon name, 
that is ridiculous. Expecting 
a president not to be racist or 
sexist should not be too much 
to ask.

You need to explain how you 

reconcile voting for Trump, a 
man who clearly disrespects 
women, 
with 
having 
a 

granddaughter. Did you think 
about how your granddaughter 
would feel if Trump treated 
her the way he treats Megyn 
Kelly or Rosie O’Donnell? Were 
you aware of the sexual assault 
allegations directed at him and 
did you hear what he called 
“locker 
room 
talk?” 
While 

voters 
expect 
presidential 

candidates to be critical of their 
opponents’ 
experience 
and 

ideas, it is not OK to lob insults 
like “nasty woman” at them. 
Even if you don’t identify as a 
feminist, I think that we can 
both agree no woman should 
be reduced to something that 
Trump, or anyone, can grab 
and insult as he has bragged 
about doing.

You also told me to give 

people like you a chance, but 
I think you need to be more 
concerned about whether or 
not the man you elected is 
willing to do that. Entrusting 
the task of bringing jobs back 
to America to a man who uses 

overseas manufacturers seems 
counterintuitive. 
The 
same 

businessman who criticizes 
China’s trade policies and says 
that they hurt U.S. businesses 
has his clothing manufactured 
there. Doesn’t this contribute 
to the problem?

You may have been one of 

the voters stressing the need 
for a relatable “Washington 
outsider” — but Trump does 
not seem to be the best fit for 
this idea. He’s a billionaire 
— not exactly your average 
Joe. 
Technically, 
he 
is 
a 

“Washington outsider” in the 
sense that he has never held 
public office. That does not 
mean he can relate to most 
Americans or will be able to 
implement policies that benefit 
the majority of Americans. 
Trump was born wealthy; he 
has lived in an ivory tower for 
all his life and hasn’t taken 
much interest in the lives of 
others until recently.

The man you elected is 

hilariously 
unqualified 
to 

be president. Honestly, why 
would you give the presidency 
to someone with absolutely 
no experience? By that logic, 
if I need surgery I should just 
overlook all the surgeons with 
years of experience and ask a 
random rich guy to carry out 
the operation.

I feel as though I have no 

choice but to give Donald 
Trump a chance since he won 
the election. I cannot scream “I 
object” while he takes the oath 
of office and expect that to stop 
anything. But I also cannot 
look at his presidency with an 
open mind when his statements 
and actions show that he is a 
self-serving, racist and sexist 
man. Telling me to give him a 
chance is like telling me “don’t 
knock it until you try it” about 
something that I know I detest.

S

ometimes, after spending 
months at a time nestled 
in the liberal enclave of 

Ann Arbor, I forget that my 
hometown is representative of 
a demographic that dismisses 
my 
political 

views as complete 
garbage. Moreover, 
if I had bothered to 
interact with that 
demographic 
at 

all — I mean really 
tapped 
into 
their 

economic anxieties 
and 
understood 

their 
desire 
for 

dramatic 
political 

change — I probably 
would have seen the 
events of 2016 coming from a 
mile away. But I didn’t, so it 
was just as much of a surprise 
to me as it was to everyone else.

I came to this realization the 

other day, after being tattooed 
by a Trump supporter.

Our conversation began the 

second I swung my legs onto 
his massive leather chair. He 
asked where I had gotten my 
other tattoos done, and I told 
him that I had gone to a few 
shops around town and one in 
Ann Arbor, to which he replied, 
“That’s pretty far.”

We were in Center Line, 

about 45 minutes from campus. 
It was familiar territory — a 
sister city of my hometown.

I explained that I live and go 

to school in Ann Arbor, which 
prompted him to ask my major 
(political science), and my 
career goals (“Do you want to 
be a politician or something?” 
“Fuck no, I don’t.”)

It was a natural progression 

from there, so eager to jump off 
the tips of our tongues as it has 
been for everyone for the last 
month: 

“What do you think of 

Trump?”

Quick disclaimer: It’s always 

a good rule of thumb to avoid 
talking politics with someone who 
is steadily drilling a needle into 
your skin — just as you would with, 
say, a hairdresser or your distant 

relatives. 
But 
this 

time, the conversation 
seemed inevitable and 
a little urgent.

I 
winced 
as 
he 

sterilized his tools and 
arranged the ink in 
front of him.

“I’m not a fan,” I 

said.

He went to work, 

both of us speaking 
over the buzz of the 
needle at this point. 

I glanced down to make sure 
he wasn’t drawing a penis or 
writing “capitalism rulezzz” on 
my arm or something. We were 
all good.

“Did you vote for Hillary, then?” 

he asked, tracing the outline of the 
design above my elbow.

“Yeah,” I replied.
“She’s so corrupt, though.”
“She wasn’t perfect.”
No use in poking the bear. 

Onward.

Our discussion lasted, in 

total, about half an hour. 
It moved from our favorite 
presidents (his was Reagan, 
mine was FDR), to socialism 
(“I’ve never seen a socialist 
country thrive like America 
has”), to Steve Bannon (“Yeah, 
that pick threw me for a loop.”)

I explained that you can love 

your country and still work 
diligently to improve it. He didn’t 
buy it.

He 
explained 
that 
the 

billionaires in Trump’s cabinet 
became so wealthy because they 
were experts in their field. I didn’t 
buy it.

By the time he had finished, 

neither of us had convinced the 
other of anything.

We exchanged pleasantries, 

and that was that.

I toggled with the message 

of this column for a while, 
spending 
some 
hasty 

paragraphs 
marveling 
at 

the humanity of the average 
Trump supporter. In the end, 
it felt too contrived. The notion 
that Trump supporters are 
people is not a breakthrough 
discovery, after all.

There is something to be said 

about the qualities that drew 
people to Donald Trump — the 
anti-establishment 
rhetoric, 

the businessman mentality, the 
crudeness that is so often mistaken 
for honesty. I could spend pages 
speculating about what these 
people thought the president-elect 
would do for them, how he would 
help. But this isn’t a think piece, and 
if I’m being honest with myself, my 
geographic proximity to working-
class Trump supporters doesn’t 
make me an expert. In fact, after 
spending years putting distance 
between myself and them, and 
having so fundamentally diverged 
in our ideologies, I can hardly 
claim to share their experiences 
anymore.

“OK, go look in the mirror,” 

he finally ordered, wiping the 
blood and ink away with a 
cloth.

I crossed the room to admire 

his work.

“You think you’ll come back 

here for your next tattoo?”

I nodded and handed him a 

tip as he wrapped my arm in 
plastic.

“Who knows,” he called as 

I turned to leave, “Trump’s so 
unpredictable, he could be the 
best president we’ve ever had 
or the worst.”

“I guess we’ll discuss it next 

time,” I replied.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Thursday, January 5, 2017

Consistent inclusivity needed

ORGANIZATIONAL AND COMMUNITY MULTICULTURAL PRAXIS LAB | OP-ED

T

he 
recent 
election 

of Donald Trump as 
president-elect 
of 
the 

United States has re-opened a 
discourse on the state of race 
and racism in our country. 
Instances of police brutality 
continue to dominate television 
headlines, online news outlets 
and social media feeds. This fall, 
racist messages appeared on the 
campuses of Eastern Michigan 
University and the University 
of Michigan. And, very specific 
to the experiences of Latina/o 
individuals, our president-elect 
has vowed to deport millions of 
undocumented people and build 
a wall along the U.S.-Mexico 
border — plans that don’t seem 
all that outrageous considering 
the 2012 Arizona v. United States 
ruling that allowed for racial 
profiling and plans that have 
prompted concerned students 
to urge the University to declare 
itself a “sanctuary campus.”

The University, and the state 

of Michigan as a whole, has a 
predominantly 
Black-white 

narrative when it comes to race. 
However, Latina/o communities 
have grown at the University 
since the late 20th century. 
Though the Latina/o student 
population at the University of 
Michigan has increased over 
the past 20 years, it still rests at 
just more than 5 percent. As this 
population continues to grow — 
both at the University and across 
the country — we need to broaden 
our conversations about race and 
campus climate to include a more 
diverse group of people.

Qualitative 
data 
from 
the 

2014 Latina/o Campus Climate 
Survey revealed that a majority 
of Latina/o University students 
experience 
racism 
on 
our 

campus. In fact, 59.3 percent of 
Latina/o respondents reported 
negative experiences based on 
their identity. One student wrote: 
“The hostility and unwelcoming 
behaviors 
I 
experienced 
is 

something I do not wish upon 
anyone. It is already hard enough 
having moved away from home, 
and when all I wanted to do is 
make friends and meet people, 
these experiences are among 
those that made me question 
whether I will ever fit in.”

Latina/o respondents said they 

most 
commonly 
experienced 

microaggressions, followed by 

racism and isolation. Thirty-one 
percent of all those surveyed felt 
these negative experiences had 
affected their ability to continue 
in 
their 
academic 
program. 

Seven percent explicitly stated 
having had serious thoughts 
about 
terminating 
their 

studies. Importantly, students 
reported 
negative 
comments 

and experiences from faculty, 
staff and other students. If the 
University wants to improve 
the campus climate for Latina/o 
students, 
the 
administration 

should commit to making some 
serious changes.

Perhaps some of the issues 

experienced by Latina/o students 
at the University would be 
resolved if the number of Latina/o 
students, faculty and staff were 
to increase. Unfortunately, due 
to the 2003 Supreme Court 
case Gratz v. Bollinger, the 
University is prohibited from 
using affirmative action in its 
admissions decisions. Even so, 
there are alternative mechanisms 
that the University could use 
to improve the campus climate 
for Latina/o students and other 
students of color. At St. Cloud 
State University in Minnesota, 
for example, students, faculty 
and staff are encouraged to take 
advantage of diversity training 
opportunities on campus.

Although the University has 

a number of student groups 
available for Latina/o students, 
the 2014 study suggested that 
many students were not aware 
of these groups or the events 
they put on.

Visibility for these groups 

may create more feelings of 
inclusion on campus. Through 
access to student demographic 
information from the Office 
of 
Admissions, 
the 
Office 

of 
Academic 
Multicultural 

Initiatives 
and 
Multi-Ethnic 

Student Affairs are at a strategic 
position 
to 
assist 
incoming 

Hispanic 
students 
and 
the 

various 
student 
groups 
by 

channeling 
information 
on 

organizations, 
events 
and 

programs during orientation 
events, to faculty advisers and 
to students directly.

The University could also take 

steps to improve its accessibility 
for Latina/o students. At the 
University of North Carolina 
at Chapel Hill, students with 

a family income at or below 
200 percent of the federal 
poverty line are guaranteed 
enough 
scholarships 
and 

grants (possibly supplemented 
by work-study) that they are 
able to graduate from college 
debt-free. By adopting a tuition 
structure of this nature, the 
University would likely attract 
and retain a more diverse 
student 
population. 
Further, 

the University has extended 
in-state 
tuition 
benefits 
to 

undocumented undergraduate 
students. Extending these tuition 
benefits to all undocumented 
graduate students would help 
to ease the financial burden 
experienced by some Latina/o 
graduate students.

We are at (another) pivotal 

moment in the University’s 
history. 
Twenty-seven 
years 

ago, 
a 
strategic 
initiative 

called The Michigan Mandate 
(brought about by heightened 
racial 
tension 
and 
student 

protests sparked by hate crimes 
including racist fliers posted 
around 
campus) 
attempted 

to recruit and support a more 
diverse student body, faculty 
and staff. Since then, Supreme 
Court 
cases 
like 
Gratz 
v. 

Bollinger have detracted from 
improvements brought about 
by The Michigan Mandate and 
made race-targeted admissions 
practices illegal in the state. 
At the same time, Fisher v. 
University of Texas at Austin 
affirms the fact that striving 
for a diverse student body 
and seeking the educational 
benefits associated with that 
diversity 
should 
remain 
a 

priority in our country.

Last fall, under University 

President 
Mark 
Schlissel, 

a 
new 
strategic 
initiative 

was 
launched. 
While 
this 

initiative 
incorporates 
some 

of the suggestions from other 
universities, 
uncertainty 

remains. Will it be effective? Is 
another strategic initiative what 
we need, or is it a Band-Aid that 
will fall off in another 20 years?

REBECCA LERNER

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

EMMA KINERY

Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY 

and REBECCA TARNOPOL 

Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

Carolyn Ayaub
Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan

Max Lubell

Alexis Megdanoff

Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Ali Safawi

Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Ashley Tjhung

Stephanie Trierweiler

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Organizational and Community 

Multicultural Praxis Lab

Lessons in communication

LAUREN SCHANDEVEL | COLUMN

LAUREN

SCHANDEVEL

“Give Donald Trump a chance”

COREY DULIN | COLUMN

Corey Dulin can be reached at 

cydulin@umich.edu.

JOE IOVINO | CONTACT CARTOONIST ATJIOVINO@UMICH.EDU

Lauren Schandevel can be reached 

at schandla@umich.edu.

COREY DULIN

Full list of contributors at 

michigandaily.com

“Happy New Year”

