Adults across the country reacted with shock and horror at Donald Trump’s rhetoric during his campaign for the presidency. A direct correlation between Trump’s remarks and increased bullying behavior could be seen in the numerous incidents that continue to take place across the country. Not surprisingly, this Trumpian attitude has “trickled down” to children in high schools and middle schools as well. “Not surprisingly,” because children see and hear much, much more than what adults give them credit for. For those that need tangible proof, look no further than the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that has made the monitoring of hate its business for more than 40 years. Back in April, SPLC sent out a survey to 2,000 teachers across the United States:
They reported an increase of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim discourse and harassment against minority students; of the 5,000 survey responses, more than 1,000 cited Trump specifically. (Another 200 comments mentioned Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Ted Cruz.) The SPLC gave the outcome a name: "the Trump Effect."
That was in April.
In the 10 days after Trump was elected, the SPLC tallied 867 election-related instances of harassment and intimidation, 183 of which were reported to have taken place at K-12 schools. And a follow-up survey of more than 10,000 educators found that reports of such harassment had "skyrocketed" since the last survey and that 80 percent of respondents described a heightened anxiety among minority students in the weeks following the election.
The incidents of hate on school campuses have covered a variety of groups and acts. As written about previously, hateful messages left on bathroom doors and students chanting “Build the wall” have been standard. New incidents of physical assaults and threatening messages are also, sadly, becoming commonplace.
At Northdale Middle School in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, a Muslim girl was allegedly assaulted, her hijab pulled from her head. Mairah Teli, who teaches at Dacula High School in Georgia, received an anonymous note with the message: "Your head scarf isn't allowed anymore. Why don't you tie it around your neck & hang yourself with it." Swastikas and graffiti were found at Council Rock North High School in Pennsylvania; someone also left a piece of paper with the note "I Love Trump" and a derogatory comment toward gay people.
In some semblance of fairness, Donald Trump has asked/told his zealous supporters to stop such activities in his name since winning the election. Whether they heed his words remains to be seen. But in the grand scheme of things, it won’t matter. They listened to his first batch of messages while on the campaign trail. Those are the words that should have never, ever been uttered in the first place.