![]() “The Trump supporters in line for the rally were super aggressive towards myself and the other protestors,” Beddor said. īoehmke said he does not see a future of civil political conversation due to an energized spark both on the far left, Bernie Sanders supporters, and people of the far right who belong to the Tea Party and House Freedom Caucus Movement.Ī common theme for people who have vastly different viewpoints on subject matter, such as politics, is to butt heads, but Josephine Beddor, a resident assistant at Burge Residence Hall in Iowa City, said the main difference compared to past elections is the erratic and abnormal behavior of President Trump.īeddor said Trump’s platform of divisiveness came full circle last fall when Trump came to Iowa City and his supporters exemplified his questionable rhetoric by harassing Beddor and other protestors outside of the University of Iowa Field House. To learn more about Boehmke’s views on the root causes of the lack of civility when discussing politics, click here. “I think that’s because they go so quickly to defensive positions as the parties have done the same thing at the national level.” “For the last many decades, there’s been a slow increase in the difficulty people have with different political perspectives in talking to each other,” Boehmke said. University of Iowa Director of Graduate Studies and Professor of American Politics, Frederick Boehmke, said the hollowing out of congress and lack of compromise directly correlates to how the electorate over the years has increasingly made it more difficult to discuss politics. Presidential races are a cornerstone of American democracy, so the question as to why the 2016 election split the country apart more than its predecessors is all relative to its climate at the time. ![]() “It was brought up a lot downtown, people would always be like ‘Hillary or Trump?’, like I would see people downtown with t-shirts supporting either candidate.” ![]() “Absolutely it was more hostile during the election, it just seemed like people were worried about the election and their candidate of choice,” Wright said. One of the more popular student bars in Iowa City, D.C.’s Sports Bar, is placed right in the center of the pedestrian mall, which had D.C.’s bouncer, Kelynn Wright, worried during election season.Īs a bouncer, Wright said breaking up altercations was common and part of the job, but with the right amount of alcohol and political banter things became even more hostile. This had led to countless acts of violence across the country, like on Apwhen according to reports by CNN over 21 people were arrested on the Berkley, CA campus due to political riots.Įven though Iowa City has not experienced anything of that magnitude, there are micro-aggressions that still exist between students on campus. residents are more divided than ever over politics. LeFebvre’s story is a common one, many college students and U.S. “The two Trump guys quickly started asking my two friends about Hillary Clinton, and then the four started cussing at each other, which I then yelled at my friends and took them back to Hillcrest.” ![]() “My friends quickly started taunting these two obvious Republicans, then they brought Donald Trump into it and all hell about broke loose,” LeFebvre said. Students swarmed the burrito joint as bars began to close creating a long line extending all the way to the restaurant’s entrance.īefore LeFebvre could discuss waiting in line with his cohorts, two of his friends started verbally attacking two University of Iowa students who were decorated in Ronald Reagan and George H.W. It was an abnormally chilly night as LeFebvre headed to Pancheros in downtown Iowa City to get quick bite before heading back to Hillcrest residence hall. ![]() IOWA CITY, Ia-Summer 2016 was vastly approaching for University of Iowa freshman Kolby LeFebvre as he decided to venture downtown with some friends one last time before everyone left to go back home. ![]()
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