The Bill of Rights. Found in the US Constitution, it guarantees, among other things, the right to due process of law. This right has been upheld in America for almost all of its history. However, now it is under attack, and Americans are not doing enough to defend it.

The Trump administration has made multiple breaches of the constitution, including but not limited to: The denial of due process (CNN, The Guardian); The unlawful arrest of a judge (The Guardian); not providing lawyers to small children, who are forced to represent themselves in court (CNN), and much more. 

Clearly there is a lack of real checks and balances on our executive branch, because the president has not yet been held accountable. If Trump is allowed to defy the Constitution, what is the point of having it in the first place? If the Constitution and Supreme Court aren’t able to stop Trump, then what is stopping America from turning into an autocracy?

Multiple people of various views and backgrounds around the school have disagreed with actions that Trump has made during his presidency. Mr. Harty, 9th grade history teacher, had this to say about Trump and his administration: “I do have…concerns about checks and balances and respecting the authority of the courts,” and that “People need to unite…and combat what is happening,”

Students echo this sentiment, with moderates who “Don’t really have an opinion on him” saying things like “I think he’s got a lot of hate behind him,” (Freshman Luke Zhilkov), and that they “Think that some of the things he’s doing are bad,” (Freshman Parker Pelletier). Spiros Sakkas explained that “He’s an interesting character…some policies I disagree with, some need tweaking,” He also remarked that he had seen news of the denial of due process on “Multiple news stations, bipartisan ones,”

The details of what president Trump has done in his first 100 or so days are deeply unsettling. Furthermore, the torrent of articles continues as his presidency progresses. It is very clear that the president of the United States, who is elected to serve our nation and protect it, is doing the opposite.

Donald Trump is abusing his power, disregarding the constitution, and even defying an order from a federal judge (New York Times). The fact that this has been permitted in any way shape or form is a blemish on the record of America and its citizens. The United States must unite to stop continued transgressions, or face dire consequences.