"The political process does not end on Election Day. Young people need to stay involved in the process by continuing to pay attention to the conversation and holding their leaders accountable for the decisions they make." Patrick Murphy

In an effort to improve campus climate post-election, I interviewed a conservative Adelphi student who voted for Trump. Here's what she had to say:

1. Who did you vote for this presidential election?

Donald Trump

2. Why did you vote for Donald Trump?

Let me start by saying the things about him I disagree with. I disagree with the fact that we shouldn’t support all illegal immigrants. That is wrong. I don't think he’s right about that and I don’t think he could do that. I just don’t think that’s something he would actually do. He’s a businessman.

When you make a deal you always have to start with the highest point then work your way down. He was starting at the most extreme point and working his way down.

Not supporting all illegal immigrants but supporting some.

Some of his cabinet members like Ben Carson may generate a more compassionate view. Carson is a compassionate person and i feel like in regards to his cabinet, Trump is getting people from both ends. He’s picking people who disagreed with him. I feel like if he was so into his set goals he wouldn’t be getting people who disagree with him.

I agree with the fact that we need our jobs back. As a business major I do fear for my future. I do agree with the fact that Obamacare was not working because one of the architects behind it did say it was literally designed to fail.

Clinton, when I look at her, screams corruption to me. There’s something about the way she talks and you can tell when she lies or when she's trying to make up a story she looks away from the camera or says "um".

Obama care was a disaster. There’s a list of how you let a socialist crush you. One way is controlling your healthcare. When they [the government] do that and make one system of provider, they lure you in and make you dependent.

3. How does socialism tie into Obama care?

Obama Care was a disaster because it has socialist ideals. The purpose was to create one healthcare provider, and that screams socialism and that is the thing is people don’t understand. Then you look at a lot of programs like welfare- I’m not aiming to get rid of welfare, but then too many people are using it. When too many people start using it they become dependent on it.

I have lost a lot of friends over this election. I’ve been called a lot of rude things and I can take it but it just makes me sad. When Trump was on 60 minutes, he looked in the camera and told the extreme Trump supporters to stop it. I believe he is a man who can take charge. But I also do believe there are extreme Trump supporters and I don’t agree with their views at all.

4. Do you think that concepts like media bias affected the election results?

I think that what happened was that the polls were a part of it. The polls weren’t taken properly.

When you look at the whole middle of the country, so many people weren’t represented in the polls. I feel like that was Donald Trump’s strategy.

There were so many people in the middle of the country, who hadn’t had their voices heard, but if you go to California or New York the polls screamed Clinton for president. There’s so many people, all those red states, where people felt like they didn’t have their voices heard. Trump went there and campaigned.

5. So I’ve heard why you didn’t vote for Clinton, but why did you vote for Trump?

I think we have to tighten our borders. I don’t agree with all aspects of his plan but I think he’s the only person who even brought up tighter boarders to begin with. When he said they’re killers and rapists he wasn’t talking about Mexicans in general. That’s another thing people don't understand, he’s talking about gangs coming in.

If there was a huge immigration problem in Canada and Americans were going there for some reason and some of them were in gangs or...they’d say we weren’t sending our best. That would be true because the people who are over there some of them are like that. He wasn’t making a generalization, he was saying the gangs were a problem.

I also believe there are so many amazing people who have been here for so long and are true Americans and should be here despite their ethnicity and legal status.

Another reason why I voted for Trump was his policy in regards to the refugee crisis. I do think people don’t understand what he said.

The best way to stop Islamophobia is to prevent the people who are causing it from coming here in the first place.

ISIS said they would send people, or there would be many people within those refugees(she is referring to this article by the The New York Times).

Isis follows radical Islam.I know so many Muslims who are so selfless and so generous and I feel sorry that they’re getting lumped in the eyes of the media with those savages. They’re two opposite ends-polar extremes- ISIS is inhuman. I’m Christian but there are some Christians who go to church on Sundays and I know Muslims who are so much better based on morale.

You can be Christian and go to church on Sundays and not be a good person.

I do believe the way to stop Islamophobia is to stop the people who care doing bad and coming in in the first place.

Another reason why I voted for Trump is his policy on taxes. I believe lowering taxes on huge corporations is good. If you look at what happened under president Harding that’s what caused the roaring 20s. What about 1930? That was because we didn’t have laws during that time.

Trump is a supporter of Reganomics. Lowering taxes on 1 percent creates jobs and welfare should be given to those who need it but when so many people lose hope they go on welfare as their only source of income. That’s how you created a socialist state.

I voted for Trump because I agree with his policies. If you think about it, Trump gave up his multi billion dollar life- he could've retired or something- but gave all of that up to be ridiculed and given death threats. There's really not much he could gain from this election besides the fact that he genuinely cares about the country. Getting bashed by the media takes somebody really strong who genuinely does care about the country. If he just wanted power, or had any other hidden agenda, I feel like he already has that and more.


6. As a woman, What do you think about the comments Trump has made about women that have been circulating in the press lately?

I think they were wrong. He apologized for them and we all have skeletons in our closet that would be just as bad if not worse. Yea we’re not running for president but it wouldn’t be much different. He was a human who made mistakes, we’ve all said things that objectify others. He’s apologized for it and you know what, his children are very respectful. His children are a mirror image of him, they’re good people.

6. Do you support Trump’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood?

I don’t necessarily think Planned Parenthood should be defunded. Maybe they could palce strict regulations on it. i just feel like there are a lot of other places women could get birth control if they wanted to or they could get contraceptive or there are some things that the leader of planned parent said they give, like mammograms, that they never actually have given. There has to be stricter regulations on planned parenthood

7. How do you feel about the climate not only on your college campus, but nationally, post election?

I know a lot of people who were really heartbroken and genuinely scared that Trump won. A lot of people are thinking with their hearts and hey think he's a horrible person who offended people. They're thinking with their hearts and because their hearts are so big they don't understand what we're seeing as Trump supporters. I don't agree with everything he says but I do agree with his core values. A lot of people have told me I need to check my values.

People want to focus on those things, like the comments he's made about women, instead of Clinton's socialist ideals. As a business major, economics is very important to me. The goal of socialism is to stop business and get people on welfare. They[Socialists] don't see the more people go on welfare, the more jobs are being taken away from the people and the less of a chance of a good future for them. When that happens people are going to go on welfare.

People who voted for Clinton didn't see her malicious side when she was promising free things left and right. That doesn't work and it makes us fall on the dependency for things that are free. People don't understand welfare isn't supposed to support everything. People want to think with their hearts. Were trying to get people off of welfare and lift them up, not push them down. We can get them off of welfare with more jobs.

8. Do you have anything to say to students who voted for Clinton or a third party candidate?

First of all, you voted. That's what your'e supposed to do and I respect that completely. You have your own opinion and you expressed it on election day. You are being a good American. Bravo to everyone who voted or made an attempt to vote.

In regards to why I voted for Trump, I feel like if you really want to understand you should come talk to me. I'm not going to attack you. I want to have these discussions and I appreciate people really wanting to understand where I'm coming from and I'd love to have a discussion as long as people want to keep an open mind i'll keep an open mind too.

I don't agree with everything Trump said but I do agree with a couple of things. I don't trust Clinton, but that doesn't mean opinions can't overlap. Were all humans, we all grieve, and we have things in common we need to address. Whether or not people like it, we have more in common people want to think or believe and I think the more discussion we have the more ideas will unravel and people will begin to think we're not so different after all.