In a nation divided by political parties, it is easy to adhere to like-minded people. ERHS is a seemingly left-leaning environment, but there are those who go against the grain.

In 2016, it was time to elect a new president. In the end, there were two major candidates: Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid potential judgment from the school community, a faculty member explained that they consider themselves as Republican and voted for President Trump because they aligned most closely with their political views in the 2016 election. 

The faculty member explained that while they are “comfortable expressing political views” outside of work, in the work environment, they don’t feel comfortable talking about politics.

The faculty member continued, explaining that “it doesn’t have much effect if talking about my relationship with other people, because I’m pretty sure everyone already knows about where I stand. Also, [at work] I try to keep the political topics out.”

They said their main priorities when choosing a candidate were “the state of the economy” and “national security”. They said they didn’t “care much about the social aspect” seeing as it is “not their business.” Donald Trump was the candidate who reflected these views during the 2016 election.

According to History.com and Differen.com, people and parties who are right-wing are those who have a conservative political philosophy. This is not an actual political party with platforms and sets of goals and ideas.

There are many organizations — like the Ku Klux Klan, White Nationalists, and the Alt-right — which can be categorized as right-wing, but have are not officially endorsed by the Republican Party.

The faculty member said they have not had many starkly negative experiences within the school community, but that there was an incident right after election night. When the faculty member reached out to another educator and asked how she was feeling, “she got really mad and started yelling at me.”

The faculty member said they felt that  “people look at me like a big, roaring, super-right, racist.”

Judgment pushes people apart and divides the nation. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2017 alone, 77% of people noticed and obvious division and foresee it to continue. The ostracizing has caused groups to huddle within themselves and tensions to grow. According to FBI data release, religious-based hate crime rates have increased 23% since the election.

Currently, the Republican party supports a right-leaning platform. One of the main priorities is addressing the country’s economic standing stability by lowering taxes for businesses and civilians.