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Coming to Syracuse University from Texas, Madison Lamont, a sophomore forensic science and psychology student, faced a new challenge: being judged based on where she was from.

“When I first came here, it was during an election,” Lamont said. “They’d automatically say, ‘You must love Trump,’ which wasn’t even the case.”

Lamont said that entering SU from a red state during the presidential election and a highly politicized pandemic led to a lot of judgments, especially with people asking constantly for her political views.

“It seemed obvious to people that I would be voting for Trump,” Lamont said. “I hadn’t even decided who I was voting for yet. I don’t identify with Democrats or Republicans … I was just trying to decide for myself, but people sort of assumed who I was voting for.”

Other students from red states, or predominantly Republican-voting states, faced similar comments from other students, especially during the 2020 election. Lamont felt like it was mostly the 2020 election that started these conversations with people. Besides political assumptions, Lamont said, being from Texas didn’t matter much to people.

Ainsley Holman, a senior magazine journalism and history student also from Texas, said that she also felt judged particularly around the 2020 election.

“In 2020, right before the election, people were very straight up with me and asked ‘Did you vote for Trump,’ or (they) assumed I did,” Holman said. “My friends from more liberal states were rarely asked who they voted for, and it never really came up for them.”

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Holman said that since SU is a predominantly liberal campus, saying she is from the South automatically makes people believe that she is conservative. Holman said that she is asked fairly often about her viewpoints on certain matters.

“My friends from (Massachusetts) or wherever aren’t asked every day if they’re pro-life or pro-choice, whereas I am asked all the time,” Holman said.

Last week, Holman’s hairdresser asked for her stance on the Texas abortion law that passed, she said. Holman said these questions that are normally private matters are now asked very directly.

Freshman Dylan Welch said that he feels a negative connotation comes from saying that he is from Oklahoma, a state that Trump won in 2020.

“Whenever I say I am from Oklahoma, I feel obligated to say my political view or say that I am not a redneck or a hillbilly,” Welch said. “There’s a negative connotation. People hear where I am from and there’s a natural judgment you receive when you say you’re from the South.”

Holman, however, felt that coming to SU allowed for her to grow confidence in her political views, even allowing her to be more politically active.

“The friends I met from Massachusetts were very comfortable in their viewpoints, but I never felt comfortable with my viewpoints before coming here,” Holman said. “I am more motivated to get more involved in politics.”

Welch experienced a similar phenomenon where he was able to find more like-minded people and a more diverse group of friends.

“My high school class had 100 people. I found a good group with similar beliefs there eventually,” Welch said. “It has definitely been easier coming here. There’s way more diversity and viewpoints here that align with mine.”

Lamont said she believes that coming to SU allowed her to solidify her political views and form her own opinions.

“I don’t have people telling me how to feel or feeding me information because now I am exposed to both sides,” Lamont said. “I have learned to become confident in my opinions and be able to talk to people even if our opinions differ. I feel like now I can have open conversations, learn from people and even have them learn from me.”

Published on September 22, 2021 at 12:10 am

Contact Karoline: kaleonar@syr.edu