I am not terrified; I am angry. I am the daughter of first generation immigrants, and although they aren’t here illegally, they came from the Middle East and have arabic sounding last names. They are muslim people of color, and they will be persecuted and harassed for the next four years by strangers and politicians. Even with the terrible news of Donald Trump’s recent election, they are still the same strong, smart and funny people they have always been. They crack jokes, and make light of the political atmosphere of this country despite their identities being invalidated. As funny as their jokes are I am too angry to laugh. As a second generation immigrant who is also a woman of color, I am angry and worried that my rights will be pried from my hands over the course of the next four years.

I am disappointed, crushed, hopeless, and livid, but not scared. I don’t have time to be scared because now is the time to get organized, maintain and create safe spaces, and make our school a sanctuary. It is time to be in solidarity and show that our voices matter. As a woman it’s time to stand in solidarity with other women and show that our reproductive rights belong to us and only us. As a person of color, I will stop at nothing to show that I will not accept racism under any circumstances. Safe spaces by and for people of color are essential for people of color to support each other over the next four years.

We can’t afford to take twenty steps back as a country, we have to consider what it means to be the leader of the free world when none of the residents of the country you control are really free. It’s not only important to fight back to save the progress made by the Obamas over the last eight years, but to show the younger generations that they live in a world where people care about them and their futures. Otherwise, this wave of hopelessness washing over marginalized groups across the country will spread from one generation to the next.

I want to show the incoming immigrant students at South that this is a safe space, a sanctuary school where ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), is not welcome. If South is not made a safe space, how are immigrant students expected to focus on education when they fear being harassed by ICE? We have to ask ourselves what we are willing to do to protect our youth, and how will we get it done, and making South a sanctuary school is the first step of many over the next four years. This is a call to stand in solidarity, where our actions speak louder than words, and our voices are louder than ever, this is a call to resistance.