Gaby Weedon, a third-year sociology major at Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB), immediately felt “her vote didn’t matter.”
Fourth-year business administration major Josefina Valdez described watching cars drive around campus, waving flags that displayed the name of President-elect Donald Trump and popular phrases. Disappointed and fearful, Valdez knew why so many took off the day after the election.
Ash Straws, a member of the Student Disability and Accessibility Center, remembered the videos of Trump “berating people with disabilities for being disabled. And if that becomes the standard …”
CSUMB has a collection of student and university organizations that provide spaces for minority groups to connect. Many of these groups such as women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals have been targeted by Trump’s remarks and plans for the United States, causing fear and uncertainty in these groups.
The Lutrinae reached out to a handful of these groups to hear their reactions to the election results and find out how they plan to empower their groups in the future.
LitMatch Feminist Literature Club
LitMatch Feminist Literature Club is just one of the many groups on campus that were left feeling uncertain following the election results.
“Waking up the morning after the election, I just wanted to be surrounded by my people, my community,” said Rachel Dack, vice president of LitMatch and third-year liberal studies major.
However, sitting with the news was never an option, the club officers were quick to create a third space where people can come together and express their emotions, and feel a sense of community.
Melissa Stevenson, a third-year psychology major and the club’s treasurer shared, “That support is so important. In tragedy what is beautiful is how individuals can come together and see how many others feel the same way you do, this is how social change is created [and] movements in the future will come from us healing together now.”
In lieu of their normal club meetings, LitMatch hosted a gathering for any individual feeling impacted by the election results to join them and share in a safe space, something they hope to continue to do moving forward, even within their normal club activities.
“On a local level, there are things we can do to combat the hopelessness and fear, this third space is what we can provide – it’s a first step and a lot of love,” said club president Cece Nepacena.
“Which is everything we had hoped for in starting this club, it sucks that these are the circumstances really bringing us all together, but we are grateful to have the ability and resources to be this space for one another,” Nepacena said, expressing LitMatch’s message.
They will always offer a space full of “togetherness” echoing to students hurting right now that “you are not alone in the grief and it is now our responsibility to come together within the community to support and uplift one another.”
Otter Dreamers
During his campaign, Trump proposed to enact mass deportations on his first day in office. Many expect his administration to eventually rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which includes 530,000 federally protected recipients who came to this country as children.
“If I were undocumented, I’m going to be stressed, overwhelmed by what’s going to happen in a year. How am I going to survive? Where am I going to go?” shared Liliana Agudo-Garcia, fourth-year social behavior science major and DACA dreamer.
Agudo-Garcia was born in Mexico, arriving in the United States at 8 months old and is now one of 119,000 dreamers currently enrolled in higher education. She is president of the Otter Dreamers, a club for undocumented students and allies aimed at sharing community resources and advocating for social justice.
With the election results finalized, it now poses often recurring and difficult questions for Agudo-Garcia and the immigrant community she proudly represents, as she believes “we will have to plan ahead how we’re going to keep ourselves alive.”
As Otter Dreamers president, she hopes to use her platform to continue advocating for the rights of immigrants and dreamers on and off campus, in spite of any potential threats her community faces from the upcoming administration and beyond.
“This nation is built off immigrants, it’s a nation of immigrants, and the nation will not strive without us,” said Agudo-Garcia. “Immigrants are people who don’t give up regardless of the struggles they go through, they always find a way to make something happen.”
Rainbow Raft Pride Center
The language used in Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign largely targeted the rights of LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender people’s access to gender-affirming care.
Project 2025, the 900-page blueprint, authored by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation for an incoming Republican administration, calls for the enforcement of conservative Christian values into American legislation, including removing the rights for same-sex couples to legally marry and have children. It also includes removing laws protecting queer people in public, at school and in the workplace.
Despite Trump’s claims of having nothing to do with the proposed rollout, many of his past and current staffers including key cabinet picks he has chosen so far have been directly linked to Project 2025.
This uncertainty for the future has left many queer people anxious, staff and attendants of the Rainbow Raft Pride Center were no exception.
“It’s very scary how we’re a center about being proud of who you are, and now there are students who are scared to come in,” said Josefina Valdez, a student assistant at the Rainbow Raft. “It’s just really upsetting, we want them to be here and to not back down and to be brave, but it’s very hard when there are people who are putting them down.”
“We just want them to know this is a safe space for them, we want them to come in,” Valdez said. “If they just want some peace of mind, they’re always welcome here, and we will do our best to protect anybody who needs help.
“Just know there are people out there who are going to go through the same things as you, so you are not alone.”
Otter Cross Cultural Center
“Trump’s election as president will potentially impact cultural centers in multiple ways. Since he has been elected, he has moved swiftly to implement an anti-trans, anti-DEI and anti-social justice agenda. What this means is censorship of whose stories can be learned in school,” the Otter Cross Cultural Center said in a prepared statement.
“What they’re really pushing for is a ban on cultural studies. Black studies, Chicano studies, Central American studies, Asian Pacific Islander studies, Queer studies, Women’s studies and so on.
“It’s also a ban on centering the lived experiences of historically marginalized communities, a ban on exploring identities and how these stories have been shaped and impacted by colonialism and imperialism.
“These bans have already begun to happen. If you [go to] states like Utah, Ohio, Texas, Florida, they have already eliminated cultural centers, spaces for students to go, spaces where they feel safe, where they feel welcome, where they feel like they belong. Those centers have been eliminated. Not just cultural centers, but women’s centers, LGBTQ centers, and so on.”
Student Disability and Accessibility Center
Straws, a member of the Student Disability and Accessibility Center, said “I definitely am nervous because [what] I’ve seen from President Trump himself, the spewing of hate, like in his speeches and the way he talks about people, about women [and] about health care. It seems like from what I’ve seen that he doesn’t have respect for people.”
With a figurehead of the American people spreading hateful speech and disregarding the health of people with disabilities, Straws fears that this will become the new standard.
“I’m worried we’re going to go back to a period in time where the ugly laws existed, where if you were visibly disabled or you could easily figure out that you had a disability, you weren’t allowed to leave your house, or you were committed to an asylum.”
However, Straws remains hopeful for the future, aiming to use their voice to uplift others and inspire people. “This isn’t the end. There is hope. We need to make sure that we’re taking care of each other,” they said.
“Also take the time, if possible, to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself. We need to organize so that collectively we can make the United States and eventually the world, a better place to live and love one another.”
The Lutrinae reached out to a number of other organizations on campus about their reaction to the election, such as CSUMB Turning Point USA and the ADLC, but they either didn’t respond or declined to comment.