What it’s like being at UCSC after voting for Trump

‘Everyone assumes that as a Trump voter that I’m against gay people, that I’m a hateful person’

UCSC is the eighth most liberal school in the United States, according to Niche. In the light of recent events, many protests have broken out around campus. The school prides itself on staunch liberalism, and finding a republican on Santa Cruz’s campus is difficult. Just after the elections, many protests took place – students have marched around the campus to downtown Santa Cruz to show the betrayal and resentment that they felt after Donald Trump was elected as president of the United States, by chanting “not my president.”

However, not all students on campus feel the same way. Eighteen year old freshman at Porter College (UCSC) Gabriel Duplantier spoke to us about being a republican here, and his views on the recent election. Duplantier  is a Business major, and although he is not currently in any clubs, he enjoys volunteering at the radio station.

Where you are from?

I’m from Huntington Beach.

How is the political climate here different?

So I’m from Orange County, and everyone there is super republican. Coming here, I didn’t know this existed. Never in my life did I expected to see a protest in the middle of my college]campus. Where I grew up, those things just didn’t occur.

How does Trump personally appeal to you? Did you vote for him in the primaries?

Yeah, I did. I did. It was pretty much republican economics. I think that I like that better. I think it’s just better for our country. Then again, Bill Clinton was a great president and our economy was pretty good. So quite honestly, I just liked some of the things that Trump was saying. I just felt that Hillary Clinton was lying to me, you know?

So you didn’t believe what she said?

I felt like she was saying all of this stuff, but once she gets [in the White House] she’s not going to do it, and that she has her own agenda. But Trump, I don’t feel like he was lying to us. He might’ve overextended himself—like said some stuff that was pretty out there and he didn’t mean. He might’ve said those things in the heat of the moment.

What do you think of his conflicting views? Such as when he says one thing, then says the complete opposite?

People definitely picked up on that, and I did too. I was like, “Come on, at least stay consistent.” But Hillary did also change a lot of her views. I think honestly, they’re pretty even with the flip flopping. But I think where I was from really influenced my views.

What are your personal views on LGBTQ+ rights?

Oh, yeah, I’m all for them! So when people attack me, I’m like, “Dude, come on.”

I feel like everyone assumes that as a Trump voter, that I’m against gay people, that I’m a hateful person. So when people are yelling at me [about LGBTQ+ issues], I’m like, “No, I’m all for it.” If I could have voted on gay rights back then, I would have voted all for it. Honestly, before I’m a Republican, I am an American, and I am a person. I support the rights of all people. Leave all of the [negative] things out of it. At the end of the day, we’re all people somehow. Everyone deserves rights.

So the day after the election results came in, did people look at you differently?

Oh yeah, people looked at me differently. My RA looked at me differently, and the girls in my class wouldn’t even talk to me. Look, generally, I’m a nice guy. I say “hi” to almost everyone I know, but half of the girls totally ignored me. They would pretend to be on their phone, or that I didn’t say anything when I spoke. I don’t get offended by that, but I’m just like, “We can’t be friends because of our political views?” I understand why they’re upset, but I didn’t do anything. I’m not that hateful person.

How is it different here after the election through social media here versus back home?

Oh, it was very different. Everyone back home was celebrating. But everyone here was pretty upset.

Do you feel that the people here feel hateful towards you?

I wouldn’t go far as “hateful.” They kind of hated me, but weren’t hateful towards me. I don’t feel endangered whatsoever. Everyone has the choice to believe what they want to believe.

Going back to Trump, he’s had some pretty negative rhetoric. Do you think that racism is still a big issue in America? People are confused, since he sometimes shifted his views. Do you think he’ll mend the racism issue in America?

During his campaign, he did say some racist things, but honestly, I can see the shift in him now. Like his meeting with Obama, did you see that? He was completely different. At his campaign rallies and on Twitter, he was saying all this shit like, “We’re going to build the wall,” and “let’s repeal Obamacare.” But when he talked to Obama, I think he realized that he’s not going to build the wall and he’s going to keep Obamacare, like some of it works. I feel like Trump is open to everyone you know? I mean, he ran as a republican, but I feel like deep down, he’s a democrat.

Do you think Trump will help mend the divide in this country—between the half that doesn’t believe in racism and the other half that does believe it still exists?

I think the South really rallied behind him and ate out of the palm of his hand. He might honestly make them realize that [racism] is not cool. I think they’ll respect him enough to change. Also, though, if you think about it, the South is such a broken place. My brother used to live there, and his wife is half black. I remember him telling me that someone almost intentionally ran them over with a car when they were trying to cross the street. Like, casually. What type of a person does that? It’s definitely still very real. And if you don’t believe that racism is a problem, then I think you need to open your eyes. I mean if someone was about to hit another human being with their car casually [because of their skin color], then I don’t think four years can heal that. It’ll take a lot more than just Trump to mend that.

Are there any last things you want the students at UCSC to know?

I’m a republican, but I’m not hateful. Some people here are close-minded about me. Being here, being among liberals, they think that all of Trump supporters are bigots, homophobes, anti-women, whatever adjective you want to throw at me, but coming here, I didn’t think I was any of these things. I’m a nice person. I’m not any of these things. When that girl said those things, I was just like, “You don’t want to be my friend because I’m a Trump supporter?” But to make real change, you have to be able to consult the other side. I’m willing to listen to you. What anyone has to say is valid to me.

Our two-party system is definitely flawed, but if you’re not willing to listen to the other person because you believed they wronged you, that seems close-minded. That’s just a generalization. They’re making generalizations about Trump supporters. Everyone is assuming things about each other. If those people in my class approached me and asked, I would’ve told them my reasons. And I would hear their side. But if they’re not willing to do that, then the change isn’t going to happen. We have to start a dialogue with one another. With those girls, I didn’t personally feel attacked. But being here made me understand why people were hurt and how they felt threatened.

Since you’re part of the new era of voters, who usually tend to vote more liberal, do you think the next generation of republicans will also be more open minded?

I see what you’re saying. Pence and Trump are old guys, right? They’re about to move out. We’re all getting older to an age where we can make the political changes, but I can’t guarantee anything, since people in the South are very different. What I am tempted to say, however, is that the next generation of conservatives are going to be more open-minded. They’re going to be the Conservatives 2.0. Even if you’re not [open-minded personally], growing up in this time period, you have to be more tolerant of everything in general. In this day and age, people—LGBT, and everything in general—have had more rights. They’re all still people and should have rights. I just wanted to show that not all Trump supporters are monsters.

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