By Dawn Gagnon, Bangor Daily News
ORONO, Maine — More than 40 University of Maine students and faculty members, as well as a few people from the broader community, gathered to protest the ideals of the Donald Trump presidency on Tuesday on the front steps of Fogler Library.
Throughout his campaign, Trump and some of his supporters have made comments seen by many as hateful, bigoted and discriminatory against women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community.
About 50 protesters attended, many holding up handmade signs reading “Nasty Woman,” “Love Trumps Hate” and “Trump Makes America Hate Again.”
Between pleas for unity, tolerance and support for those feeling under attack by Trump and his supporters, participants chanted “We reject the president elect,” “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” and other slogans critical of Trump.
Freshman business major Collin MacMillan of Bangor did not participate in the protest but said he saw it as a healthy display of how many college students are feeling in the election’s wake.
“I think it’s a great example of freedom of speech. I voted for Hillary [Clinton] and, you know, I think it’s a great example of college students expressing how they’re feeling right now,” he said.
A UMaine student taking in the rally action from a picnic table on the mall thought some of the protesters were “going overboard.”
“A lot of the people who are protesting seem to be making a lot of assumptions I feel are not necessarily true, and they’re based off of what I, in general, believe to be Trump just pandering to a low common denominator in order to get votes,” said the UMaine student, who did not want his name to be used.
“But I don’t think going forward much will change except the fact that the [White] House is more red than blue and with the Supreme Court justice he is going to be appointing,” he said, also scoffing at the notion that millions of illegal aliens will be deported. “I really just don’t think that is going to happen. I genuinely don’t.”
The roughly hourlong anti-Trump rally was held by members of Maine Student Action one day after thousands of high school students in several cities walked out of class in protest over Trump’s presidential win on Nov. 8.
While most of the protests since the election have been relatively peaceful, matters got out of hand in Portland, Oregon, where one person was shot and 71 people were arrested on Saturday, according to CNN.
In addition, The Washington Post reported that an anti-Trump protester was pushed down a flight of stairs during a rally on Monday evening at Ohio State.
In a campus-wide email sent out on Monday, UMaine President Susan Hunter, Dean of Students Robert Dana, Provost Jeffrey Hecker and Carol Kim, dean of the graduate school, offered support to those feeling disenfranchised and sent the message that harassment and intimidation won’t be tolerated.
“We are a community of scholars, and civil discourse defines us. We ask that differences of opinion or of political philosophy be open and honestly discussed in ways that are respectful and caring, and that the divisive rhetoric of the recent campaign be left behind. … UMaine is a safe, loving and diverse community, where partnership and communication are highly held ideals. This reality endures,” they said in the email.
This story appears through a partnership with the Bangor Daily News.