Make America Great Again, also known as MAGA, was President Trump’s electoral campaign motto in 2016. Over the past several days, writers from the Day Creek Howl, conducted a social experiment in MAGA gear, which involved the infamous red hats and sweatshirts. Below are some of our accounts.

Some comments were positive about our so-called style: “I love it!” or “Yes!” when asked “Do you like our hat/hoodie?” We also heard some negative comments: “No” or “I hate it so much!” when asked if they liked our merchandise.

On the first day of our experiment, even close friends said, “Don’t even try and talk to me, today,” or “Are you actually serious?”

Surprisingly enough, we received affirmative comments from our very own staff. One Day Creek P.E. teacher responded to a red “Make America Great Again” item by saying, “Nice sweatshirt!”

As we walked down the nearly empty halls, we hoped that a greater number of students and staff would notice our “Make America Great Again” and “Keep America Great 2020” hats. Yet students just walked by and didn’t make any notice of our clothing unless we pointed it out to them.

After not fewer responses than we hoped, we switched to interviewing. We asked students if they liked Trump and how they felt about him.

”I think (Donald Trump) is going on the right path right now. He has had some difficulties which has caused a lot of conflict. But, he’s fixing (our country) in a way,” said Josh D., a seventh-grade coyote.

“I don’t want people who are illegal to come here and make our town unsafe,” added Hailey M.  in response to the US-Mexican border discussion. While stating that she did want Donald Trump as president during the 2016 election, she would like to see the other candidates for the 2020 election.

Mateo C. said that he didn’t know much about Donald Trump. Though he admitted that he doesn’t pay much attention to our president, he made a comment about our MAGA merchandise. “I don’t just sit in front of the TV all day. I don’t buy his merchandise,” he said, motioning at my “Make America Great Again” sweatshirt.

There are many mixed opinions about how Donald Trump has influenced our country. Simply wearing a hat or sweatshirt can cause offense. If you share a Democratic point of view, conservatives get frustrated, and vise versa. Students of Day Creek typically don’t share their points of view in politics because conversations like these are so challenging for us to share.