October 2020 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

Page 1

October 28, 2020 Volume 56, Issue 2

the Everything Greenhill

evergreen.greenhill.org

One Campus, Indivisible? Greenhill students and faculty are discussing, debating, voting and poll-watching as America elects the next president on Nov. 3.

Photo illustration by Sarah Luan

Nate Stitt

Features Editor

Valerie Xu News Editor

V

isiting relatives in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, last summer, sophomore Madison Rojas was reminded how Donald Trump’s presidency has changed perceptions of America, at home and abroad. “My cousin had been enamored with the idea of ‘the American Dream,’” Rojas said. “[She] had always wanted to visit the U.S., and I had always wanted to show her around the place I call home.” By last summer, Rojas’s 12-year-old cousin, Abril, had a different view of life in America. “They don’t want us there,” Abril remarked to Rojas. Rojas says she shares her cousin’s dismay with how America has changed after four years of Trump rhetoric and policies— dismay that is shared by many Greenhill students who fear what Trump’s reelection might bring.

“After Trump was elected, the idea that America was a safe and welcoming place for people of all ethnicities began to fade,” Rojas said. “How could I be trying to convince [Abril] to visit when all of the people actually responsible for running the country were actively doing the opposite?” Rojas says the polarization that Trump has triggered has intensified political activism at Greenhill. Rojas, for example, has joined multiple political action clubs. Senior Zach Kennedy, president of the Conservative Student Association, has a different perspective on the impact of the Nov. 3 presidential election. “I don’t think anything will change [at Greenhill],” Kennedy said. Kennedy believes that Greenhill has always leaned liberal and doesn’t think the results of this year’s election will change that. Senior Danny Enrico, a member of the Conservative Student Association and a selfidentified moderate conservative, says he isn’t sure who he would support in the presidential election if he could vote. Enrico says

that the Greenhill student body has been influenced by the nation’s polarized environment and has shifted even further to the left over the past four years. Regardless of political ideology, students on campus say they are energized about this year’s election. For Rojas and many others, this election could determine the kind of country that America will become in the years ahead. “This is the most important election of our lifetime,” Rojas said. “Everything is at stake.”

The Silent Belief For conservative students surrounded by their left-leaning peers, many say they have trouble finding acceptance with students and teachers. “Suppressed,” Kennedy said. “My ideas throughout my high school years have not been heard by teachers as well as students.” Enrico says that he has also experienced belittlement from fellow students who have

questioned if he is a good person as a result of his conservative beliefs. “I think a lot of this is extremely unfortunate,” Enrico said. “The truth is that conservatives at Greenhill are too afraid to speak out, and I do think a lot of the recent anger comes, understandably, as a result of some of the failures of the current [Trump] administration.” Aaron Timmons, director of debate and faculty sponsor of Project Dialogue, a club dedicated to increasing critical discussions among students, says that any sort of environment that excludes the voices of certain perspectives, like conservatives, is not healthy for a liberal arts education. “If you have a diverse community, that does not mean we agree on everything,” Timmons said. “It means we have a diversity of thought—and it seems like we don’t want that sometimes, which is why I believe that faculty members need to be trained on how to navigate difficult conversations.” continued on p. 10

News

Views

Features

Arts

Sports

COVID-19 has changed how voters cast their ballots, p. 2

A Greenhill conservative’s case for President Trump’s reelection, p. 5

The impact of social media as a platform for student politics, p. 6

Students highlight unjust criminal convictions in an original fall play, p. 13

Athletes find their voice in political activism, p. 15

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