Freedom of speech and expression

During an interview at an open table in the University Centre, Markowski keeps her red hat upside-down, hiding the white writing on the other side. She said she wanted to keep it hidden out of fear of being spat on during the interview.

She said she was initially nervous about wearing the hat at school because of the way the world was reacting to Trump’s win, but she she wanted to show her support for him. She said she never thought she would be targeted like she was for expressing her political beliefs.

She said her family is from Toronto, and they're Trump supporters, too. But they don't support everything he says or does.

“When we support Trump, obviously we don’t support the disgusting things he’s saying about women, we don’t support the racist anything,” she said.

“I personally support him for his economic policies, what he wants to do with trade and what he wants to do with lowering taxes on companies that have manufacturing plants in America.”

She said in Canada, we have freedom of speech and expression. This means you don’t get assaulted when you express your political views, she said.

“I’m wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat,” she said. “People, I guess, associate that with racism.”

Markowski said she knows of other Trump supporters at the school who were also discriminated against following the election. Though efforts were made, the Mercury Tribune was unable to connect with those individuals.

After the incident, she wrote about what happened on the popular student Facebook page Overheard at Guelph.

The post received more than 175 comments. Many of those who weighed in said they weren’t surprised this happened to her because of what she was wearing. Other commenters said she should never have been hit for expressing her political beliefs.

'You can’t just label someone who voted for Trump as a racist'

Brenda Whiteside, associate vice president of student affairs at the U of G, said the school encourages students to pay attention to and get involved in political discussions.

“Students are quite welcome to wear clothing that supports particular politicians,” she said.

“The only time that would not be the case is if it was a political party that was promoting hate.”

For example, we would consider a swastika a symbol supporting hatred against a particular group of people and we would treat it as a hate activity, she said.

“But (to support) an individual who’s running in a democracy in a free world like Trump, that’s absolutely allowable.”

In light of the recent US election, Whiteside said the school is looking to foster healthy discussions about what a Trump presidency could mean for Canadians. The U of G politics department will soon be having a session on understanding the politics of the election.

“You can’t just label someone who voted for Trump as a racist,” she said. “There’s a lot of reasons why republicans voted the way they did,” adding the US has a much different political process than Canada has.

On campus we’re trying to find ways to help students have dialogue that is more respectful. She said most important message the school is telling students: educate yourself.

“Don’t just respond with this knee-jerk, ‘well if you voted this way than this is what you believe,’” she said. “Why you vote for parties can be very complicated and very political and it can’t just be labeled as black and white.”

'It is time to support one another'

On Tuesday, Jane Ngobia, the assistant vice president of diversity and human rights at the university, sent out a message to students, staff and faculty, calling for peace and respect following the election.

"In this highly charged emotional climate – on social media; at work; in residences, in classrooms and in our homes –I urge us to be particularly vigilant in considering the impact of highly charged, excessive and sometimes hostile speech on many of our community members, even if that impact was unintended," she wrote.

"This is a time to speak up. It is also a time to listen. It is a time to give each other an opportunity to express ourselves and to be heard. It is time to support one another."

Following the US election, a number of hate crimes have been reported throughout the country. A swastika was painted on the front door of a Jewish prayer centre in Ottawa; racist alt-right posters have gone up in Toronto; a woman faced racism while standing in the checkout line at a store in Hamilton.

Many believe the Trump win has fueled these hateful acts, giving permission to racists.

On Friday, the University of Guelph will hold a panel discussion looking at the Donald Trump win and what it means for Canada. The discussion is open to the general public and takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the MacKinnon building, room 120.