By Ponce
The past few weeks of GPC have been a very enjoyable experience for me. With all the drama surrounding the GOP nomination[s] and other nationwide events, come Monday’s politics and podcasts discussion there is plenty of new material to be talked about. Out of all the conversations held in Room 82, two in particular have stood out to me: North Carolina’s HB2 and Trump’s run for president.
As you may know, Governor Pat McCrory helped pass a law that ‘alienates’ the LGBTQ community’s rights in North Carolina by allowing institutions to provide “differential treatment based on any sex based orientation”(Justice Department, 2016). It is no surprise that immediately after this house bill was passed, key figures and organizations began voicing their opinions. Bruce Springsteen, a popular musician, agrees with the Justice Department that this law is a “practice…of discrimination against transgender(s)” (Justice Department, 2016). However, Springsteen is not alone on this. As a matter of fact, this law has attracted so much media and nationwide attention that “musicians have threatened boycotts, business have canceled job expansion plans, conferences have been canceled, and the NBA says it will move the 2017 All-Star Game, planned for Charlotte if the law remains unchanged.”(The Atlantic, 2016). Wow, would you ever imagine something like this would spark up! While I share the same viewpoint with many other Americans that this law is discriminatory, there is one part I struggle with-that being the bathroom part. In my opinion, allowing any man to use a woman’s restroom opens up a plethora of problems with the justification that/that man claims to identify as a woman. While I have no issue with a person being LGBTQ, I feel that I have
the right to use a restroom with the expectation that other persons are the same gender as myself. I understand that these comments may anger many, but frankly I think the LGBTQ community has received too much attention regarding restroom usage. We need an answer to this solution fast so this problem does not escalate into something much worse, but we as a community need to understand and remember one thing. In searching for equal rights, it is important that we maintain equality for everyone, not just the LGBTQ community or we risk violating others’ rights.
Aside from that note, Donald J. Trump secured the Republican nomination with a crucial win over Indiana. As I was informed about the news, a wave of excitement, nervousness, and curiosity flooded over me instantly. Does he have truly have the power to “make America great again” if he has such little experience in the political world? How will he deal with foreign relations? With having the highest disapproval rating of any candidate in U.S history, how will this 
affect his decisions if elected?
First of all, yes…Trump can fulfill his master brand. Looking at the official Trump website, he embodies four ideas that seem idealistic for our next president: tax relief for middle class Americans, simplifying the tax code, growing the American economy, and not contributing to the national debt and deficit. Secondly, “he would bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, generally”(Fox News, 2016) by “totally dismantl[ing] Iran’s global terror network”(The Week, 2016). And thirdly, this will not. Through his borderline racist and 
sexist comments, and outright radical policies it is apparent that Trump could not care less of what people think of him. Whatever the case, I know that I am looking forward to that debate between Trump and Hillary/Bernie.
Works Cited:
“Donald Trump Favorable Rating.” The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, Inc., 2016. Web. 06 May 2016. <http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/donald-trump-favorable-rating>.
Garcia, Catherine. “Trump, Cruz, Rubio Argue over Who Supports Israel the Most.” Trump, Cruz, Rubio Argue over Who Supports Israel the Most. The Week, 25 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 May 2016. <http://theweek.com/speedreads/608642/trump-cruz-rubio-argue-over-who-supports-israel-most>.
Gupta, Vanita. “Civil Rights Division.” Letter to Pat McCrory. 4 May 2016. MS. Washington D.C.
“North Carolina’s Civil Rights Act Violation.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 2016. Web. 06 May 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/north-carolina-hb2/481347/>.
“Tax Reform.” Tax Reform. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., n.d. Web. 06 May 2016. <https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/tax-reform>.
Government, Politics, & Citizenship 