Poll Question: In light of Trump’s inauguration and the women’s march, how do you feel Trump’s presidency will affect women?  Will you be watching the inauguration?

Erica Ramirez, 26 years old, studies at East Campus

“If I’m free [I will watch the Inauguration], but I don’t even know when it is. I care, but I’m not that involved.  First I was afraid, but my opinion of politics [is that] it’s pretty twisted.  I feel like there’s still optimism in this situation; I don’t think that Trump is the womanizer jerk that even he puts himself out to be.  I think there’s a lot more hope than people think. My optimism is that there’s opportunity for change like there’s never been, and that he’s so different from anyone we’ve ever had. I don’t think there’s a threat to women right now.  I think this is a chance for us to really rise up and gain more power that we’ve always wanted.”

Maellendy Dirksz, 21 years old, studies at East Campus

“No [I will not be watching the Inauguration].  Since I’m not from here, I didn’t pay as much attention.  I feel that he is not fit even to be a businessman; I mean something is seriously wrong with that guy.  He’s misogynistic, he’s racist, he makes fun of handicapped people.  He’s kinda not what you want for a president.  But women can stand up.   It’s not like he has total control and power.”

Shawn Livermore, 52 years old, studies at East Campus

“I absolutely love it that the Republicans are back in power… We [women] need to stand up and be good role models for our children and say, “We’re going to support our president because he was elected through the Electoral College.  We’re going to support him because he is our president.  We’re going to believe in the future.”  The media has portrayed [Trump] as a scoundrel and they’ve said he’s really bad towards women, but that’s not true… I believe the media has made a lot of lies.  As far as women are concerned, there’s going to be a lot more jobs for women and more opportunities under a Trump presidency.”

Sabrina Coelho, 22 years old, studies at East Campus

“I mean there’s nothing we can do now.  I’m not going to watch the inauguration.  I don’t like him.  [On whether the women’s march will be effective] For women, maybe yes.  To him, he obviously feeds on the drama, so he’s probably going to say something stupid about it.  As a woman, I’ve always had a fear of walking out, and I just fear more because now guys think they can do whatever they want because Trump’s president.”

Jacqueline Kerr, 23 years old, studies at East Campus

“Honestly [because of] the way I was raised, I’m not nervous for the presidency because if someone’s not protecting you then you’re going to find a way to protect yourself.  It’s just rolling with the punches.  You’re never going to be fully in control, but the most you can learn to do is protect yourself.  I think with the amount of people fighting for our rights that there’s a huge amount of hope.  A voice carries more than we think it does.  There’s more of a chance of us gaining more liberties and being better off than there would be if we were silent.”

Andrea Marcano, 18 years old, studies at East Campus

“I think his presidency is a joke.  Eventually he’ll be impeached or something, because he’s kind of crazy.  Honestly, all we can do now is not fight it or him, because he’ll just go to Twitter again.  He feeds on the drama.  All we can do is calm down and hope for the best.  I think our country will learn from [this], and pick a better person next time.”

Yerika Germosen, 17 years old, studies at East Campus

“I know that Trump is known for being misogynistic, and I think we tend to attribute a lot of the values we have as a society to our presidential candidate when it shouldn’t be that way.  I think that values should be founded in the home and not in the government, so I don’t feel particularly vehement towards him.  I think there’s a positive side to him being elected.  I think this can help women stand up more strongly [for] the movement.”