Harper College students sound off on Trump presidency
A Hillary Clinton supporter got teary-eyed. A Donald Trump voter voiced disgust with the status quo. And a man who voted for Libertarian Gary Johnson said he now feels "cautiously optimistic" about the country's future.
Richard Krupa's Intro to American Government class at Harper College in Palatine was one of many places around the suburbs where lively discussions about the presidential election took place Wednesday.
None of the 11 students were happy, or confident, about a Trump presidency. However, they agreed Trump connected with a large, overlooked segment of America that was fed up with decades of being mistreated and unheard.
"They felt ignored, and Trump didn't ignore them," said student Jacob Walker, 22, of Hoffman Estates. "Whether they understood (his platform) or not didn't matter. They just saw the factory down the street closing up and moving to China."
The class' wide-ranging, 40-minute discussion touched on topics that included whether Libertarian and Green parties spoiled the election, whether Bernie Sanders could have beaten Trump, and if the results show a "white-lash" or "two Americas."
Student and Clinton supporter Aura Ciungan, 19, of Arlington Heights got emotional expressing her disappointment in the outcome.
"(Trump) said a lot of hateful things, not just to women but to minorities ... and a lot of good things that Obama did that are going to be pulled back now," she said. "I was really upset."
She was, however, pleased with Democrat Tammy Duckworth's U.S. Senate win over Republican incumbent Mark Kirk. "We got something right," Ciungan said.
Oscar Vazquez, 20, of Hoffman Estates was surprised so many Latinos voted for Trump. He and his family, some of whom are immigrants living in this country illegally, wonder if Trump will deport them, divide up their family and take away their access to health care and education.
"I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
But others expressed optimism in a Trump presidency, saying he could shake up a bad system. "Are the voters going to have buyers' remorse?" Krupa asked. "We shall see."