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gair rhydd
gair rhydd | freeword Cardiff ’s student weekly Issue 1086 Monday 14th November 2016 Cardiff University joins healthcare product initiative
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“I don’t want to go back home.” Students react to US election EXCLUSIVE
Toby Holloway
T
he world came to a brief standstill on Tuesday night to watch the climax of arguably the most hard fought and momentous presidential election of all time. Many could not believe their eyes as Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 279 electoral votes to 228. Others were jubilant, citing an against-all-odds victory over the United States’ political class. At Cardiff University, many students followed the progress of the election late into the night, with hundreds more congregating in the Taf donning Clinton and Trump masks. The majority were supporting Clinton, and a jovial, alcohol-fuelled atmosphere began to turn anxious and tense as Trump gained more and more electoral votes. The occasion has been compared to
Brexit with the same feelings of confusion and dejection creating a sense of deja vu among onlookers. Alyssa Alamillo is a first-generation Mexican-American currently studying at Cardiff University, and she spoke to Gair Rhydd about her experiences of election night, and her emotions following the victory of Donald Trump. “I voted in both the global primary and the general election. I was, and still am, a strong Bernie Sanders supporter and hoped he’d represent the Democratic Party. I voted for Hillary in the general election, but it was mostly a pragmatic decision than a personal one. “When it became apparent that Donald would be the presidential elect, I cried. I’m not an emotional person, and many friends know this, so for something to strike me that hard is a telling of how much fear Trump brought to America. I feel emotionally drained and tired. This election was my first and has honestly made me feel completely useless.”
She added: “No matter how frequently women and people of colour share their troubling experiences about their identity in America, it just gets struck down as ‘labelling’ and ‘divisiveness.’ It’s exhausting to constantly recount experiences of racism in my life only to be struck down because ‘racism doesn’t exist in the United States.’ “This victory means that it is okay for someone to be blatantly racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, xenophobic, and not only is it okay, it is electable in the high office. “I’m more fearful of his Vice President elect and his hardcore supporters than I am of him. Not even 24 hours since he won I had already received a racist tweet basically calling Mexicans rapist freeloaders. I’ve experienced racism as a Mexican-American a handful of times in my life, but not with the kind of rhetoric Trump has introduced.” Alyssa also stated that she had planned to return to Chicago, the city where she
was born and where her family still live, to try and find a job after university. In the aftermath of the election, her plans have changed. Speaking to Gair Rhydd, she said: “Now, I don’t want to go back home.” Talking about her Mexican heritage and newfound fears of discrimination, she said: “I come from a family of legal Mexican immigrants. I’m a first generation American on my father’s side and second generation on my mother’s. This result has me worried for my relatives and younger sisters. My extended family won’t face deportation, obviously, but we sure will face harassment and racist comments.”discrimination many of us have had throughout our lives will not compare to the kind of harassment we may receive in these coming times.”
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ardiff University has joined a number of Welsh and Irish universities in a new ‘innovation network’. The €11.96m Celtic Advanced Life Science Innovation Network (CALIN) will seek to develop medical products that could help provide quicker diagnoses for patients. Professor Arwyn Jones from Cardiff University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, who is leading the Cardiff University group, said: “The CALIN project is a unique opportunity for Wales to accelerate medical innovation in the region and stay at the forefront of emerging fields in the medical sector. By working closely with our counterparts in Ireland, and SME’s across the two regions, Welsh universities can help develop innovative products that will improve the health and commercial sectors of both nations.”
Partisan support to save Cardiff man from deportation Assembly members from all four of the party’s present in the Welsh Assembly have backed a campaign to help prevent a 19-year old man from being deported back to Afghanistan. Bashir Naderi, who has lived in Cardiff for 9 years, had his deportation postponed in October,, after a judge ordered it be halted. In a show of support for Mr. Naderi, AMs from each party took to Cardiff Bay wearing blue ribbons, after a petition against his deportation recieved over 11,000 signatures. Mr. Naderi’s solicitors have launched a judicial review, while Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens has been working to try and keep Mr. Naderi in the city permanently. Labour AM Jenny Rathbone described Mr. Naderi, who was a painting and decorating student at Cardiff and Vale College up until his deportation case, as an “exemplary” man, while also describing the cross-party support for the “Stand Up For Bash” campaign as “very heart warming”.