On Tuesday night I sat at an election watch party in a lecture hall on Columbia's campus, sharing a pint of ice cream with my friend, ready to celebrate the shattering of the glass ceiling. We had been unable to get tickets to Hillary Clinton's Javits Center party, but we were content and unafraid. Filled with excitement and nerves, we watched as Donald Trump won both of our states (Texas and South Carolina) and the ones he was expected to take. No, we said, Don't worry. We knew he would win those. Just wait for New York and California. It's going to be okay.
And then we watched as he won states such as Florida and North Carolina, and realized it wasn't going to be okay. That the glass ceiling wouldn't be shattered that night. And that Donald Trump was going to become our next president.
I'm a student at Barnard College, the women's college at Columbia University, and you can likely imagine the excitement that had flooded campus throughout the day as students expected to watch their first female president be elected. And you can imagine the emotions that rocked campus as the election drew to a close. Groups of students crying in the hallway, protestors crowding the Low Library steps, silence falling over a city that is usually so loud. It was one of the most saddening things I have ever seen. But the next day, as students moved out of morning and into action, it was also one of the most reassuring.
Like the students I am surrounded by every day, there are some incredible communities that have come together to protest hate through promoting love. Of all of these groups, my favorite is the "secret" Facebook group Pantsuit Nation, with almost 3,500,000 members. This is a Hillary support group, named after Hillary's infamous pantsuits. I had heard of the group, but was not a member until a few weeks ago, when my stepmom texted me about it and added me in. And I'm so, so happy she did.
This group is a safe space for people to share their stories, their reasons for voting for Hillary, their experiences voting as females, members of minority groups, the LGBTQ+ community. Stories of taking their children to the polls, stories of going against parents to vote for what they believe in, stories of hope and fearlessness and excitement about the future. And so it was to Pantsuit Nation that I turned in the wake of Tuesday night. Feeling lost and frightened and worried for my future as a female and student, I spent hours scrolling through the posts, the messages of inspiration and equality, kindness and love. This was a community of three million strangers that somehow felt more familiar than any community I had ever been a part of before.
As I was attacked on Facebook by boys and girls I went to high school with (I even had a boy tell me I should be sent to prison, just like Hillary! Am I officially a nasty woman yet?), I turned to Pantsuit Nation for a reminder that the world would overcome racism and hatred. That we were not going to simply submit to a man who promotes so many things we have worked so hard to overcome. People from all age groups and walks of life come together in this group to remind each other that this is our America, and that we can make it a country to be proud of. That love will always trump hate, that the children who these parents had to explain the current political situation to will be able to grow up in a world and know that they have the power to change it. That we may not have shattered the glass ceiling, but we sure as hell cracked it.
Despite the reactions I've received this week, I am proud to be a Hillary supporter. I am proud to be a woman. I am proud to be a student at Barnard college, and the larger Columbia University. I am proud that I believe in- and will endlessly promote- equality, love, and acceptance, and that I will fight to never let any of these be overtaken by hatred, racism, and oppression. And I am very, very proud to be a member of Pantsuit Nation, to be a part of a group of people dedicated to creating a better future for all of us.
Someone, someday, is going to break that glass ceiling. It might not be Hillary, but it might be someone who watched her stand against Donald Trump with grace and composure. Any woman knows what it felt like to watch a female who has dedicated her entire life to a field, who is competent and prepared, take second place to a man with a loud voice and little-to-no experience. It is not a new phenomenon.
But it's one that we are someday going to overcome. And I, for one, can't wait to witness that day.
