A new club at Lincoln High School gives students who are unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election a way to communicate their feelings with others who feel similarly.

The Lincoln Student “Resistance” Club was created by juniors Camilla Szabo and Nasra Abdi to build community and talk about issues such as racism, sexism, transphobia, and Islamophobia.

“We want to provide a space for people who are affected negatively by our government’s recent decisions, and also people who want to expand and develop their perspective,” says Szabo.

So far, the club has had two meetings with 10 participants. As the club picks up steam and gets more recognition, its leaders are hoping to get more followers so they can begin planning for future actions when need be.

During club meetings, Szabo says, “we start off with a topic or article to spark discussion. Like a current issues that the club members want to discuss, or something raise awareness to other club members and the rest of the school about any protests of events going on in the near future.” Szabo also says that they encourage questions and comments from anyone, even if a student isn’t affiliated with the club.

Although the club hasn’t put anything in action as a unit yet, since they are fairly new to Lincoln, the two club leaders “have both protested and partook in other forms of resistance, as well as followed other local resistance organizations,” says Szabo

They also believe that “sparking this discussion is a form of resistance in itself” and they are prepared to take physical actions if the time becomes apparent.  

But the focus of the club isn’t just to spark protests.

“We hope to raise awareness for the issues we discuss as well as provide students with the tools they need in order to make a change– whether that be protesting or signing online petitions,” Szabo says. “We hope to strengthen community within our peers and discuss hard topics.”

With protesting and resistance comes some concern about  how far this will go and where the line is between being school appropriate and disruptive.

Principal Peyton Chapman said  she doesn’t know much about the new organization.

“While I do not know very much about this club, since it is fairly new, the staff and I are prepared to stop any hateful or inappropriate behavior that may occur,” Chapman said

Szabo and Abdi encourage students to join this club if  they feel they need an outlet to talk about their feelings post-election. Their poster states, “We aim to make this club inclusive, empowering, and educational.”

While this club claims to be inclusive and informative, some students are worried about the repercussions that could occur.

Among them is sophomore Jessica Motley.

“While I think this club is a good idea and I think that this club may just turn into a ‘bashing Trump club,’” she said.  “I think that it is fine to talk about and raise awareness got other things like xenophobia sexism, but I don’t think that it necessarily always has to relate back to Trump. While I don’t, it is a possibility.”  

While this could happen, the club leaders plan to uphold this mantra for every club meeting and continue to grow this club and raise more awareness for this issue. The club meets every other Tuesday at lunch in room 224.

If you want to join this club, email club leaders at [email protected], or [email protected].