Student Trump supporters were hard to spot on Washington University’s campus prior to the debate on Sunday.
Hundreds of students flooded the quad, Danforth University Center, Mudd Field, and area around Graham Chapel—the places where the major news networks had set up camp and were broadcasting live. Most students had no visible political paraphernalia, but the occasional student wore a Clinton sticker, sign, shirt, or hat. A student group and several Clinton staffers handed out blue Clinton-Kaine signs to passing students. “Love trumps hate” signs attached to long wooden poles held by students stuck out above the crowds, often finding their way into the backgrounds of the news networks’ broadcasts.
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
Many signs mentioned Trump, but they were largely critical or ironic. Senior Simon Olson, an editor of the university’s satirical newspaper WUnderground, carried a sign with the phrase “Polyamorists 4 Trump!”
“Trump made pretty discrete allusions to committing adultery [in his video released on Friday],” said Simon. “It’s why I’m voting for Trump. A vote for Trump is a vote for many lovers.”
Among the signs mentioning Trump:
- Trump Hates Mozz Sticks
- Trump Hates Harambe
- Trump Stole From My Lemonade Stand
- Trump Can’t Shuffle Playing Cards
- No Trumpkins
- I Paid More For This Poster than Trump’s Paid in Taxes
- Trump Isn’t Family At Olive Garden
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Washington University’s students lean liberal: According to the Pew Research Center, millennials—particularly college-educated millennials—tend to vote Democrat. And Trump has deterred some Republicans on campus; the university’s conservative student group, the College Republicans, chose not to endorse the Republican presidential nominee.
But, as several students pointed out Sunday evening, an anomaly seemed to exist on Wash. U.’s campus.
While trying to find my way to the Public Expression Zone, I approached a group of three students to ask for directions. One wore a bright red “Make America Great Again” hat. Another had a similar hat in a camo pattern. Another in the group, Jimmy Reddy, was still undecided. They were polite, admitting that they, too, did not know exactly how to get there. So we walked together, guessing where to go.
They talked about what you might expect college sophomores to talk about: the excitement surrounding the debate, where they would watch the debate, who they would watch it with. “I might watch the debate with a few other students,” said freshman Liam Mardis. “But at Wash. U., I can’t really watch it with too many students because…” His voice trailed off. “It’s very liberal.”
Mardis expressed frustration with the College Republicans on campus, saying they are too apologetic for Trump. Their ideologies are essentially Libertarian, he said, explaining that’s only half of what qualifies someone to be a Republican.
As we made our way to the Public Expression Zone, the three joked about the amount of security in the area, sarcastically saying that it must be needed to protect people from triggered emotional reactions.
They all seemed to agree that more open discussion between Democrats and Republicans needs to take place. “On both sides of the political spectrum,” said Reddy, “there is often an obnoxious unwillingness to talk.”
Mardis told me that earlier in the school year, when he wore his red “Make America Great Again” hat to a Black Lives Matter rally on campus, he was told by a faculty member that he should probably leave. “She told me that it ‘wasn’t my space,’” he recalled. “I told her I paid my $65,000 a year to go here, and I can stay here if I want to.” He eventually did end up leaving the rally because, he said, he can’t stand to “listen to that stuff for too long.”
When the Fox News team began their broadcast on Mudd Field on Sunday evening, a couple students holding signs with conservative messages gathered nearby. A a Wash. U. alum handed freshman Bouldim Heistand a sign depicting Trump. “Us conservatives have to stick together in times of trouble,” he laughed, “in our scarcity here at Wash. U.”
Like Mardis, Heistand had experienced negative reactions from others based on his political views. One day while sitting at lunch with a friend who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, he said a couple other students sat down at their table. “They called him a ‘racist,’” said Heistand. “They think that him wearing that hat is like a disgrace and is insensitive to the black community here at Wash. U.”
Another student in the Fox News area, sophomore Steve Skydel, wore a white “Make America Great Again” hat and held a sign that read “I’m With Him.” “I think a lot of people more on the conservative side hide in the dark a bit more,” he said.
Skydel added that he wished the campus would bring in more conservative speakers. “It’s a very safe campus,” he said. “Everyone is very friendly, but I do sometimes get looks when I wear the hat.”
Regardless, Skydel said he appreciated how lively the campus had become because of the debate. “It’s probably the best Sunday I’ve had all year,” he said.
A group of Skydel’s friends stood nearby, holding signs with impassioned proclamations, such as “I’m With Stupid” and “Happy Leif Erikson Day.” When the Fox News broadcast came back on the air, students began yelling, scrambling to get a spot toward the front of the crowd. Several Clinton supporters, like Skydel and his friends, also held signs with non-political, humorous messages.
No political divisions were shattered. But at least for a moment, a group with viewpoints across the political spectrum converged behind one shared goal: getting funny messages on national TV.
