To the queer, latinx, black, brown, disabled, women, and muslim students at South: you are loved. To the students whose safety or family’s safety has been threatened in just a few hours because of an election that proved hatred to continue to exist in America, we love you.

The man who stood before us last night on our TV screens and our phones denies all that South has strived to achieve in an oppressive and hateful society. The hatred, the bigotry and the violence instigated by his actions is a terrifying reality that has, and will attack South- but we will fight. The strength of South is a strength made up of stories and cultures that are reflections of our student body, and with this strength will come pain, struggle and healing  that we will face together.

As students, we must unite. We must love each other, care for each other, and strive to show up in times of hatred. This is not the beginning of an end, but rather the beginning. The beginning of an opportunity to ride up against the attack of our fellow peers.

South has proven community in times of distress: our sit ins, our walk outs and our voices have proven our solidarity with the issues that impact South’s youth. We’ve stood up- and sat down- against police brutality, we’ve painted murals on our walls to respect indigenous activists, and we have interrupted our in-school education to let not only the administration know, but to let the world know that we hear and we care. We stand for justice in times of oppression, and we will face this attack on our peers with the growing determination we have proved effective.

There will be no unity in a Trump presidency, but within ourselves and within our walls we can create unity. We can express our reactions to the election’s outcome as Peace Tigers lead us to do today in the commons by writing our responses on Post-its. We can communicate as teachers lead us to do today by pausing their curriculum to create a space for conversation regarding Trumps victory. We can organize and we can be heard. 

As youth, we can speak our truth through social media, through art, through organization, through conversation, through thought and through reflection.