Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States last week, catching many Clark students off guard, as Hillary Clinton was ahead of Trump in most polls in the final two weeks of the campaign. A month prior to the election, students at Clark voted on two propositions and for the president, resulting in Trump as president leading with 55 percent of the votes and Clinton following with 45 percent of the votes.

On Nov. 8,  right after the results were released at 11 p.m., students began to tweet and post their views on social media accounts. The next day students discussed the results in their classes and during break time.

Senior Thomas Zohrabyan is another Trump supporter, although he did not wear the cap. He said that he was ecstatic that Trump won because of his stance on immigration, economic issues and social issues. The results to him means that America will actually have a great chance of becoming great again instead of being “bogged down by logic- and reason-hating liberals in Washington and in our society.”

Not every student supported Trump’s victory. According to Edgar Khachatryan, a GHS senior, a few girls at Glendale High School held a protest after snack on Nov. 9, with about 40 people sitting outside near a #imstillwithher poster. The students sat outside all day in protest and at snack. They were confronted by Trump supporters who came outside with a #makeamericagreatagain poster, standing right next to the Clinton supporters. At some point, many students started to chant, “Trump Trump Trump.” According to Khachatryan, by the end of the day some students got into fights and some were arrested.

Some Clark seniors felt similar disappointment over Trump’s victory. Senior Ani Petrosyan was in utter shock when she first found out that Trump had won. She had fallen asleep early that day and woke up at 3 a.m. The first thing she did was grab her laptop and Google “U.S. President 2017.” “When I saw his picture I was literally on the verge of tears. I support Trump’s policies. I agree that we should deport illegals, but only criminal illegals. I also believe that we should bring back stop and frisk. But I support Clinton because as a politician she knows what she is doing and she is respectable. In my opinion, presidents don’t hold much power; they instead serve as an image for America, and I don’t want a sexist, racist as the image for America.”

A question that really stood out to Petrosyan was how President-elect Trump would affect her and her classmates. “I think this presidency will have a strong impact on my classmates and I, being that we are seniors and will go off to college,” Petrosyan said. “Trump has not mentioned student loans while Clinton believes that people low-income families should receive more government aid.”

Senior Marah Hassan is a Muslim American who was also deeply disappointed with the American people and how they could vote for someone she claims is an “unprofessional individual that is a racist, a bigot, and an individual with no logical plan for the future.”

“Donald Trump, the man who wanted to ban Muslims from the US and label us just like Hitler did to the Jews in the Holocaust cannot represent what the United States was created for,” Hassan said. “Anyone is better than Trump, who criticizes minorities and bashes them.”

In an email and phone message to GUSD families on Nov. 15, Superintendent of Schools Winfred B. Roberson spoke up about the controversies and tensions that have arisen due to the nature of this election. Robertson mentioned the diverse views of students and allowing them to express their feelings, “acknowledging their concerns and reassuring students that they are safe.”