Isabella Burgos was appalled when she woke up on Tuesday, Nov. 6, to see Donald Trump had won the election. What surprised her even more, however, was who had voted for him.
Burgos is a second-year student at the University of Iowa and a member of the Hispanic American community.
The female support Trump received simply did not make sense to Burgos, no matter how many times she tried to wrap her head around it.
She believes the white women who voted for Trump either do not see or choose not to see the inequality problem in this country. Others may have been single-issue voters, choosing Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris for his promise to end access to contraceptives.
“What do you mean you don’t want to choose for your own body? I can’t even rationalize [that decision] in my head,” she said.
Burgos was afraid as a woman, a Hispanic person, and a minority.
She’s noticed that liberal women have started to brace for the next four years. Friends of hers are getting IUDs so they can have some form of choice for their bodies, now that contraceptives may be on the political chopping block.
Within hours of the results coming out, posts on social media informed viewers that Plan B conveniently had a shelf life of four years, so other women she knows are stocking up.
As the interview continued, red flushed her brown skin. She questioned how a convicted felon couldn’t get a simple job at McDonald’s but could become the president. Then she paused and took a deep breath.
“We just want to be safe,” she said.
Jacob Althaus, a freshman and member of the Black community, was just as devastated as Burgos. He felt many emotions that day, but surprise was not one of them. Althaus said that although he was hopeful, he did not have much faith that people would look past presidential candidate Harris’s race, but especially her gender.
Althaus is worried about Trump’s proposed economic plans, such as higher tariffs, and how they will affect members of his community. Essential things like grocery shopping could change drastically for families that are already financially stretched thin.
He also knows the invaluable impact education can have on a community, so hearing how Trump plans on dismantling the Department of Education is a harrowing reality for him.
As the U.S. has become more divided in its beliefs about minority and women’s rights, people like Burgos and Althaus have more fear in their hearts every day.
But, according to both Burgos and Althaus, hope is not lost. They both believe that communities can come together to support one another.
Althaus is a frequent member of the Black male mentor and support group Hubbard Scholars. He says their weekly meetups at the Afro House (African American Cultural Center), titled “Critical Conversations,” have provided just the right space he needs to find others like him looking for change.
Althaus can’t say he’s too confident about America coming together as a whole in the next four years, but he says maybe we can meet in the middle.
“We’ll see if they can become more connected [but it will] probably stay the same,” he said.
I truly hope it doesn’t. It’s no secret that over the years America has become more divided. The big issue this time is that now we aren’t just divided politically but also in our identities: race, religion, sexual orientation. All of it has become personal to us.
Burgos hopes we can bridge that gap on campus through the use of our cultural centers. She loves how accessible they are and is even happier that they exist in a place like Iowa, which is overwhelmingly white. She says that if we can start to care for each other’s rights, we will be looking toward a brighter future. Cultural centers and clubs can do a good job of starting that process.
In the meantime, Burgos is taking it day by day and hopes that no matter what, we don’t regress.
Me too, Burgos, me too.