A quarter of Americans have called the Nov. 5 election the most stressful experience of their year. Many members of minority and previously targeted groups—a college student in the process of transitioning, an immigrant with uncertain citizenship status—are worrying and wondering what it might mean for them. In this multi-part series, The Statehouse File is sharing the personal stories of some anxious Hoosiers.
In ninth grade, Fred James experienced harassment from peers for coming out as transgender. He was told he “was doing it for attention” and would be called by his dead name. He also received backlash from his family for not sharing the same views and ideas.
James now worries for his life and his rights as a trans teen trying to make ends meet in this world.
“Even though I am 19 years old, from what I know, they are trying to take away transitional rights for adults as well, so there might be a chance that I can’t even transition,” James said.
Although his rights play a big factor in his fears, James, like a lot of Americans, worries about the economy too and, more specifically, how it could keep him from going back to school.
Earlier this year, James dropped out of St. Louis University and came back home to Indiana in hopes of pursuing a career as an EMT. Since being home, he decided to change direction and attend Indiana University for nursing after getting his EMT certification.
However, due to his worries for the economy and President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the Department of Education, James plans to “lay low” and put IU on hold until the next election year rolls around, when he hopes to get officials who are more supportive of his rights and views into office, making him feel safer as an American.
“I’m scared someone’s just gonna shoot me for being trans,” James said. “I know a lot of people already like to harass trans people. … I can only assume it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
—Grace Wilson
Nautia Lewis has always wanted to be a mom, but due to some health circumstances, she worries about childbirth.
Lewis has been diagnosed with high blood pressure among other things, but high blood pressure alone can cause problems like preeclampsia, eclampsia and stroke for a mother and her baby.
“Me and my fiance are planning on having kids after the wedding,” Lewis said. “It kind of scares me that if something was to go wrong, … I’m gonna die.”
Lewis says, however, that even though she’s scared of the thought of dying giving birth, she has made peace with the possibility of it happening.
“I am a very religious person, so I’m somebody that if it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go,” Lewis said. “I guess that’s how it has to be.”
On top of fearing childbirth itself, Lewis is also fearful of the world her future children will grow up in. She wants those who are voting to be mindful of who they are voting for and what they believe in.
Just like James, Lewis also hopes for a day when someone who shares more of her beliefs and ideas will be in office.
“I hope that the world does get better for my kid,” Lewis said. “It’s people that have the ability to care, to be able to be the change they want to see in the world, and that’s what I want to teach my kids.”
—Grace Wilson
Angie Sanchez immigrated from Venezuela with her family when she was 11. To this day, her family is still waiting for their asylum to be approved. Sanchez worries that because of this delay, she won’t be able to seek higher education.
In order for her to receive financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), she has to be a citizen or a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigrant, but due to her not having a set status here, she can’t receive financial aid, making it difficult for her to pursue a college degree.
“Hopefully I can still attend college and be a student here,” Sanchez said. “I don’t have any ideas of what I could possibly do. I’ve really only been thinking about leaving the country.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says the average asylum process takes 180 days unless there are “exceptional circumstances.”
Sanchez’s parents received college degrees but are unable to work in related fields because of the wait on their asylum.
“I have, in a way, better options for my future,” Sanchez said. “Now they have to do factory jobs and DoorDashing and it’s a lot harder on them. … I’m pretty concerned of what this future will look like for them.”
According to a survey by Ask Your Target Market, 56% of Americans went on vacation this past summer. Sanchez says her family has never been able to go on vacation due to not having a set status.
“One of my biggest hopes would be to be able to earn our citizenship as soon as possible,” Sanchez said. “I would love to have some sort of set status for us to be able to go back and visit our families or travel.”
—Grace Wilson
Jalen Marks, originally from Chicago, a senior at Indiana State University and president of the Black Student Union (BSU), believes it’s important for minority students to make their voices heard on campus.
“The change forthcoming only limits us as much as we allow it to,” said Marks. “Being that the sector my organization represents on this campus is not the only of its kind, it will cause collaborative efforts nationwide to rectify all forthcoming issues assertively.”
Marks expressed concerns that some of the elected officials want to create a cultural divide that will push the country back to a segregated era without that label.
“It displaces us as people, because it decreases our human rights and limits the altitude our ancestors placed for us,” he said.
Marks, an information technology major, worries that the opportunities created for students of color will be diminished and will lessen the number of minority groups that may attend college.
“My organization has collaborated with the ISU chapter of NAACP to host an event which targets the minority group and invite them all to share their thoughts and wishes in order to formulate a proposed plan of action,” Marks said. “By doing events like this, we can significantly address specific issues and how we can possibly form ideas to counteract whatever sanctions may be placed on our communities.”
President-elect Donald Trump, while campaigning for the White House, made statements about the possibility of abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education is responsible for overseeing and supporting education at all levels.
“The Republican Party’s proposition places limitations on access to certain resources that are primarily used by minorities, essentially making education more of a privilege instead of a basic human right,” Marks said.
His advice to others would be to “be the change you wish to see.”
“We shouldn’t wait until it’s someone close to us to defend things that will evidently affect us,” he said.
—DeMarion Newell
Sydney Combs a freshman at Ball State University who is in a same-sex relationship, expressed their feelings on the difficulty of same-sex marriage rights.
“When it comes to just the ability to do normal things like getting married and changing names … it makes it hard,” they said. “But obviously there’s also the social aspect of it becoming a lot harder to just exist, especially since people now feel a lot more comfortable targeting gay people.”
While attending Ben Davis University High School in Indianapolis, Combs said there were kids who would openly make negative comments about gay people and even would go out of their way to misgender trans people. Combs said the biggest incident was when a trans man got crowned prom prince and the kids started complaining and saying he wasn’t a “real man.”
“I know what happened while I was in school, but there was definitely an uptick when Trump announced he was gonna rerun for presidency,” Combs said. “It’s not as prevalent now that I’m in college, but it was definitely more prevalent in high school.”
Across the country, during the last legislative session, the American Civil Liberties Union tracked over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills and policies. The majority of the bills were defeated.
In June 2024, President Joe Biden’s administration attempted to expand protections with Title IX for LGBTQ+ students but was blocked by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves.
Even though Combs has a fear of their rights getting repealed, they stay informed about safe spaces within their community.
“I try to keep up with things socially and . I just try to keep up with the community, so at the very least I have support, even if I can’t do much in the way of going out and voting if it’s not a time for an election,” Combs said.
Combs advises others in similar situations to remember they are not alone, even if it’s through online support—there’s a huge community for people who don’t fit the social norm, they said.
—DeMarion Newell
When she had gotten reports of Frisbees ending up in the yards of Johnson County residents, Amanda Stevenson-Holmes was taken aback. These Frisbees had “F— You” plastered on them, accompanied by a photo of Vice President Kamala Harris painted to be the Joker.
This took place before the election results on Nov. 5. Now Stevenson-Holmes fears for her life as Johnson County Democratic Party chair.
“To me, that’s violence, that’s intimidation, that’s harassment before the election even started,” Stevenson-Holmes said. “So if that’s where we’re starting, it’s just going to get worse.”
Stevenson-Holmes became involved in the party in 2016 after Presidential-elect Donald Trump made his way into office. This time around, she was responsible for organizing volunteers and the donations they received.
Due to all of the work and effort she had put into this election year, Stevenson-Holmes ended up in the ER on Nov. 6, the day after the election.
“The night of the election, when President-elect Trump won all seven swing states, I think we were just devastated,” Stevenson-Holmes said.
Not long after becoming party chair in 2020, Stevenson-Holmes started receiving hate mail at her home address.
The way the party structure is set up in Johnson County, the party address also happens to be wherever the chair lives. This means Stevenson-Holmes has her address online for anyone to see.
Stevenson-Holmes and her husband have both picked up extra jobs and have started a rainy day fund due to their worry for the way the economy may go. They have also “beefed up” their security to protect their privacy and their peace during this time.
“I got involved in this political arena because I believe in my country and I want us to remain a democracy,” Stevenson-Holmes said. “I think we’re the party that wants to help people, but it doesn’t seem like the voters want any help.”
—Grace Wilson
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