On Monday April 25, 2016, Donald Trump held a rally at West Chester University. On the same day, he tweeted a picture of an old paper mill in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, just a short drive from WCU, and a place myself and so many others call home.
"Passing what was once a vibrant manufacturing area in Pennsylvania. So sad! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain"- @realDonaldTrump
Now, Mr. Trump, Downingtown isn't "sad." Our residents are proud to live in an area with so many accomplishments. You may have taken a picture of this paper mill that broke out in fire in 2005 and has been abandoned since, but you also portrayed our town as broken, and that just hurts.
There are so many things in my town that you could have commented on. For instance, we are home to the top high schools in Pennsylvania. According to SchoolDigger.com, Downingtown STEM Academy is the #1 high school in Pennsylvania. With Downingtown East at #52 and Downingtown West at #155, leaving all three high schools in the top 22% of PA high schools. Out of 577 school districts in PA, DASD ranked #21, the top 4%. Now, if you went just 3 minutes down the road, you would see 2 out of 3 of these schools, and you could have praised us for the efforts we have put into our students' educations.
Downingtown is located in the wealthiest county in Pennsylvania and the 25th wealthiest in the United States. Chester County is home to West Chester University, which you just so happened to visit, that has the highest graduation rate in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
"Still, if you're looking for an example of the Keystone State's decline, you could do a lot better than Downingtown, about 35 miles from Philadelphia. Unemployment in the borough is around 4 percent, and Chester is the state's wealthiest county per capita." -newsworks.org
You say our town isn't vibrant anymore, but I find that to be wrong. There are so many things to do here and you should have taken a bit of your time to see that for yourself. Every Friday night in the fall, you can find most of the community at Kottmeyer Stadium cheering on their high school football team. We have small businesses galore, and that's what makes our area innovative and unique.
This paper mill is a piece of Downingtown's history. It hasn't been in use for almost 11 years now and our town has decided to renovate it for a new high speed train station with other commercial and retail possibilities.
Mayor Josh Maxwell replied to Trump's tweet saying:
"There is nothing sad about Downingtown.
That mill is a future high spd train stn You are uninformed, to put it mildly."
-@maxwelljosh
I am proud to say that our town is thriving. You may not use it as a metaphor for the rest of the country or even our state. One building does not define our town, it does not make our area sad and I will forever be grateful for my vibrant town.
