Daily Trojan’s Daily Poet: Responding


By
 in ,

In this last week of poems, I am responding to the recent election. During the week of the election, I was busy with schoolwork and didn’t really have time to actually let the knowledge of its repercussions sink in. It began when I was walking to class one day

and I saw a white male standing there, and my heart raced. Adrenaline rushed through me as I ran up the stairs. I cringed at the sight of a white man and I didn’t understand why. When I sat down in lecture, I realized what happened: I was scared of what he would do to me because I was a minority. After everything sank in, I wrote these poems. I tried to cover as many issues that have arisen from the election. If I tried to cover all of them, I would not stop writing poems about the issue. There are so many complexities to the election and the inflamed discrimination, and it would be difficult to cover them all. I am just one voice in the movement. This election will continue to inspire more incredible art, and here is the beginning of mine.

DEAR RED BRICKS:

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

This poem is about the day after the election. Protests erupted, and so did disregard. My social media was filled with people saying that we were “overreacting.” This is my response.

SHE AIN’T MOVIN’:

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

I wrote this poem after hearing about discrimination targeted toward Muslims. My friend who attends the University of Michigan received crime alerts about hate targeting Muslims around campus. One report stated an unknown man demanded a Muslim student to “remove her hijab or he would set her on fire.” This is my response.

NOT YOU:

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

I heard about a group of Latinx students creating a human wall at a USC protest and found it so powerful, especially as a Mexican-American student. This is my response.

SIREN’S LULLABY:

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

In this poem, I discussed police brutality. Since I was young, I always feared the police, and I didn’t know why. I respected them because I knew that was what I was supposed to do, but there was also something inside of me that told me to run the other way when I saw a police officer. The tension created by police brutality continues to grow. This is my response.

LETTER TO THAT ONE PERSON WHO HAS ALL OF US UNDER THEIR CONTROL:
Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

I heard that Trump was trying to correct himself. He told his supporters to respect minorities, trying to undo what he created. This is my response.

DON’T TOUCH HER!!!:

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Trump said that he wanted to “grab her by the pussy,” and now there are men who think that it is okay to do so without consent. This is my response.

YOU CAN’T STOP US:

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

Steven Vargas | Daily Trojan

This is a poem of empowerment. We will not stop. We will not let discrimination stop us from letting our voices be heard. What is your response?