Rallying together after an election that many feel polarized the nation, UNC Wilmington students and community members came together for a peaceful protest against the new president-elect, Donald J. Trump.

After Trump won the election Nov. 8, despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, protests erupted all over the country against both the new president-elect and the American method of choosing the president through the Electoral College rather than purely on the popular vote.

UNCW’s protest began as a private Facebook event, hosted by Alexandra Stevenson and Holly Wood, in which individuals could invite friends to the page. Roughly 266 people were invited.

Beginning on the steps of Randall Library at approximately 9 a.m., around 30 to 40 people met to organize the protest with their various signs and flags. As the group grew in numbers, it soon migrated to the front of the amphitheater and then towards Chancellor’s Walk.

“I’m just really glad to see so many people on campus coming together peacefully instead of spreading messages of hatred, violence or hate crimes,” says Lindsey Metz, a UNCW junior who participated in the protest.

The group shouted chants like “a nation united can’t be divided,” “love trumps hate,” and “sí se puede,” during the duration of their protest. Some members of the protest held signs that read “not my president” and “BLM,” while others held signs that read slogans from the Clinton-Kaine campaign, such as “stronger together.”

While some students, faculty and staff sat and watched the event unfold from the sidelines, some individuals not initially involved in the protest cheered its participants on while they passed and some observers stopped to take a photo or video. However, not all bystanders were happy with what they saw.

Gabriel Hines, a freshmen at UNCW, questioned the time and place of the protest, saying, “Why are you stopping my education when it is something that is beyond my control?”

“I think they have a right to practice freedom of speech,” Hines continued, “but there is a fine line right now because everything is still new and sensitive.”

James Dupree, another freshman who watched the protest from afar, disagreed with this being the wrong time and place for organizing.

“I hate how they targeted campus, the younger generation,” stated Dupree. “This is a very effective place to do it and that bothers me the most.”

As the campus continues efforts to engage in addressing the election results, whether it is via chalking opinions, attending Seahawk Speaks events or participating in protests, UNCW students are hopeful their message is being heard.

“The message [of protesting] is lost,” said Metz. “We’re not protesting because we hate someone, were protesting because we want people to come together.” 

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Assistant News Editor Malia Benison can be found on Twitter @maliabenison