In the first few days after Donald Trump was elected president, students and activists in Baltimore City took the chance to gather and share their displeasure. Today, six days out, members of Towson University’s campus community joined in.
Hundreds of students were seen walking out of class and gathering in a large circle in Freedom Square on their campus on Monday. A student group known as the Social Justice Collective sent out a message telling the campus community to gather there at noon, according to The Towerlight, Towson University’s student newspaper.
“This is one of the most important moments for faculty, staff, and students to come together to stand against Trump’s hatred, racism, bigotry, homophobia, Islamaphobia, and misogyny,” the group reportedly wrote in their email. “We do not stand for hate and we will not tolerate this on our campus, in our community, or in our country.”
As promised, around 12 p.m., people flooded the square outside the Lecture Hall. On social media, participants could be seen holding signs and standing or sitting together. All looked pretty peaceful roughly two hours in. The only reported signs of testy behavior were run-ins between singular Trump supporters and crowds.
Towson event got tense when woman said “I don’t F-ing care” about Trump voters. Man said “FU” and there was nearly an altercation.
— Pamela Wood (@pwoodreporter) November 14, 2016
One Trump supporters vs many at Towson University @marklevinshow @RealJamesWoods pic.twitter.com/or6b8pVWDn
— ? Lavendula ? (@LavendulaCos) November 14, 2016
This isn’t the first Donald Trump-related controversy of the season at the school. In the days leading up to the election, a student wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat was reportedly assaulted and had his cell phone taken. On the other side of that line, reports emerged last Thursday of an incident in which white students followed two of their black peers on the campus and shouted the n-word at them.
The Trump supporter’s assailant was arrested in the first case, while the campus is still investigating the second case, per The Towerlight.
As for today’s walkout and subsequent protest, all demonstrations appear to have been nonviolent so far. A spokesperson for university police confirmed there was one “emotional exchange” between a student and a group, but said the student decided to leave the gathering on his own terms.
