You may have formed some opinions during the election campaign of Donald Trump, but now his presidency is a reality. So where do those opinions stand currently?

There is a common conception that America holds something for everyone. However, it is also commonly known that this country has not always been completely fair to everyone.

As decades pass and social norms develop, many controversial issues have been assessed – from slavery of African-Americans to the election of the first African-American president. Freedom of speech has always played an immense role when regarding these issues of conflicting interests. As of now, our country is exercising this right with the focus of arguably the most topical person of 2016: Donald Trump.

There is no denying the popularity of this subject, and people have developed a wide scope of ideas about it. Every American has some thoughts of this current topic; their opinions ranging from one side of the spectrum to the other. When talking to a few students around campus, the conclusion can be made that we may not all be in full support of our new president.

“People didn’t think it would be this bad, this fast,” said Moorpark College student Edwin Guda. “He’s just abusing his power.”

Guda, a nursing and science major, felt his slightly negative opinion strengthened after the inauguration of Trump. He was not alone in this development of opinion. Fellow nursing student Sajan Joseph, though somewhat neutral during the election period, felt his views had changed since the introduction of new legislation under Donald Trump.

“I tend to be more pragmatic,” said Joseph, “but it’s only his first week, he still has four years.”

The rate at which Trump has acted on promises made during his campaign is alarming to many, as these promises challenge our current form of government.

“It’s hard to say what he’s going to do in a full sense,” said Joseph.

Although talk of walls, bans and new ways to handle foreign policies were discussed during Trump’s campaign, it is safe to say that his first week as Commander in Chief has been blindsiding, simply in velocity.

“I didn’t think anything serious was going to happen,” said student Emily Sager, an english major in her second semester.

While some of these concerns might be familiar to many of us, it is important to try to understand both sides of every argument. As protests ring out nation-wide, strongly developed opinions are being expressed in opposition of current events. Peaceful protesting is a crucial part of our right to freedom-of-speech.

With that being said, the key word in this concept is peaceful, not just in a physical sense, but in an ideological sense. If the intent behind the protesting is also non-aggressive, then a peaceful protest is much more achievable.

“People assume that because someone voted for Trump, they are a bad person,” said Sager. “I don’t really believe in that.”

It is important to stand up for what we feel strongly for, but even more so imperative that we do not remove our humanity from the situation. It is as simple to keep in mind that just because someone differs from ourselves,it does not mean that they are any less human.