(Senior Airen Washington ’17 Leads Rock the Vote Session at Orientation)

Read about our new Trinity students in my Convocation Speech to New Students 8 26 2016

Our new Trinity Women have a lot to say about current political issues!  Senior Airen Washington ’17 led the new students in a terrific Rock the Vote session at orientation, and many students registered to vote at that time.  At the opening convocation last Friday, we took a straw poll of the new students about which candidate they hoped would win the election for president of the United States ….results below.   I also asked the new students to write a brief answer to this question:  if you could speak with the new President of the United States on Inauguration Day, what would you tell him or her is the most important thing the President should do to improve your life and the lives of your families and communities?  The list is long and quite impressive.

First, the results of the Straw Poll of New Students at Trinity:

• Hillary Clinton – 122 votes
• Other Candidates – 52 votes
• Donald Trump – 1 vote

Would you like to participate in a straw poll?  Click on this link to take the Trinity campus-wide straw poll on the election and the issues!  Cast your vote now!  We’ll publish results soon!

So what would the new students of Trinity say to the new president on Inauguration Day?

Not surprisingly, the overwhelming group of responses — 38% of the 160 comments received — call for actions to make college more affordable and free college.  Clearly, our new students — like all of our students — have concerns about the cost of college, and I will be writing more about that in the days ahead.

The next biggest comment groups for our new students included:

• Immigration Reform
• Stopping Police Brutality
• Black Lives Matter, racism and equality
• Equal Pay for Women
• Gun Control
• Jobs, Poverty and More Opportunities for low income individuals
• Homelessness
• Healthcare
• Environmental concerns, community safety and issues related to equality in general

Here’s a sampling of the comments:

“Your duty is to the people.  Remember that!”

“More legal protections for women in the workplace, victims of hate crimes, sexual assault and domestic violence, ensure social security benefits for seniors and Americans with disabilities.”

“Lower taxes for middle & low class families, make college more affordable and do something about the injustice that’s only dividing this country.”

“Education should be affordable so people will have the opportunity to grow out of poverty.”

“The message I would give the new President is that he/she must make affordable education because I know many friends who could not afford college.  I think if more youth could go to college this country could be great again.”

“I would hope you will bring peace to our country and make sure you can bring more help to people who need it.”

“I want the future president to make America great again.  Fight for rights of all people regardless of who they are.  Tackle the issues in ours and other countries.  Make peace with other countries.  For the next generation to never suffer as we did.”

“Black Lives Matter.”

“The most important thing to help my family and community is to have gun control, to decrease police brutality, and to keep everyone safe.”

“I want the next president to make equal pay [a priority], affordable education and gun control not just for myself but for others so that as a community we feel safe.”

“If I had the opportunity to meet up with the President on Inauguration Day, I would tell him/her that the most important message is Immigration Reform.  I would like to see a president who uses the power of the voice of all 11 million immigrants who live in this country — let their voice actually be heard.”

“President, I will impress upon you the task of expanding the affordability of postsecondary education.  College education has always been regarded as significant.  I desire our government to match this significance with funding.”

“Make this country more peaceful through restorative justice practices.”

“My message for the new president would be:  I hope you’re ready for what’s coming because this is going to be a hard job to do.  Please take care of this country and the families within it.”

“All Americans should, without question, have access to basic human rights such as education, food, healthcare and the freedom to express themselves in an environment that is safe from police brutality or hate.”

“More youth empowerment programs to take younger children away from criminal/illegal activities.”

“Lower tuition.  Some of the world’s geniuses can’t afford to attend college.”

“Msg. to President:  Latino lives matter.  Black lives matter.  Have equality!”

“The most important thing you can do is secure for my family the right to religious freedom and uphold our current constitution in all areas of life.”

“To make family assistance more accessible for all families, such as daycare services for those single mothers who want to succeed but struggle to do so because they get turned down for those services.”

“Use the guidance of God.  Always keep him first.  Pray before making big decisions for our country.”

“Be compassionate and open-minded.  Find the truth and let it guide you.”

“Do everything you said you would do!”

“Find efficient ways to better the environment.”

“Hold police accountable for violence against the African American community and the minority population as a whole.”

“What are you going to do for Black People?  Our issues are very different than those of other races, we deal with police brutality, our men being unlawfully jailed, etc.”

“The new president needs to make sure that justice is equal among races, genders and sexual orientation.”

“Help the middle and lower classes … make American socially, politically and economically equal.”

“The most important think that I thin the president can do for my family and community is to stop police brutality and have everyone — no matter what color or race — unite as one.”

Well said, new Trinity Women!  We’ll have lots more on the Voices of Trinity and election season in the days ahead.  Welcome to Trinity!

Do you have comments on this post?  Use the comment link below to offer yours, or send me an email at president@trinitydc.edu

And follow me on Twitter @TrinityPrez