‘If I wore this in Toronto, I would get beat up’
U.S. student and unabashed Trump supporter attending liberal U of T keeps campaign T-shirt in drawer
Calvin Vaughan is a six-foot-five quarterback at the University of Toronto, and he is unwilling to wear the shirt outside. It is a simple white T-shirt that he has worn in the United States, but when he looks at it, “I say to myself, ‘If I wore this in Toronto, I would get beat up.’ ” It is a Donald Trump campaign T-shirt. “I just have to think, like, someone would take a carton of eggs and have a fun time with me,” Vaughan said with a smile. “And that’s what I think every time I see it.”
The 20-year-old civil engineering student wore the shirt at a Trump rally last month at a high school in Ashburn, Va. Daniel Dale, the Star’s Washington correspondent, snapped a photo of Vaughan posing in the shirt and holding a sign: “Hillary for Prison 2016.” Trump merchandise has already sparked conflict on at least one Canadian campus this month. A student at Mount Royal University, in Calgary, was wearing one of Trump’s red “Make America Great Again” baseball caps when another student asked him to remove it, suggesting it was helping to spread “hate language.”
The video of the confrontation spread widely online.
There is a history of protesting against U.S. politics at the U of T as well.
Hundreds gathered to protest when the school granted former U.S. president George H.W. Bush an honorary degree in 1997, chanting — and hurling snowballs.
Vaughan, who is a backup quarterback, said the worst backlash he has endured so far was from social media comments below the posted photograph.
“I think having a variety of political beliefs and ideals sparks a healthy relationship between teammates.” JAIDEN MCBRIDE U OF T DEFENSIVE BACK
“People were like, ‘What, is this kid stupid? Obviously, higher education can’t fix how stupid this guy is — he’s probably got too many concussions,’ ” he said. “Even in that, I kind of was able to get an even bigger respect for Donald.”
Vaughan was born in Innisfil, Ont., to a Canadian father and a Guyanese mother. He said they moved to the Washington, D.C., area when he was 3, returning to Ontario in the summers. In high school, he returned again, to play football at St. Michael’s College.
He said he followed the wave of enthusiasm around Barack Obama’s first election, in 2008. He identifies as a conservative and supports Trump in part because of a perceived authenticity, and because he said Trump “wants to see the country go in a direction which is positive.”
Jaiden McBride, a veteran defensive back and political science student, said players talk politics in the dressing room and on bus rides back from road games. He said he wasn’t aware of any teammate jumping on Vaughan for supporting Trump.
“A lot of amazing, interesting and insightful thoughts are shared on the bus back,” McBride said. “And I think having a variety of political beliefs and ideals sparks a healthy relationship between teammates.” Does the discussion get fiery? “I don’t think it ever really gets fiery,” he said. “I think a lot of people save that energy for game day.”
Running back Alex Malone, a Toronto native, said his home was filled with support for Bernie Sanders, the runner-up for the Democratic nomination.
“I’ve heard different views, but at no point has anyone ever shut somebody else down,” he said. “I feel like one of the things we kind of pride ourselves on at U of T, particularly the football team, is that we have such a diverse locker room.”
Vaughan has not avoided all confrontation, though. He said he went to a Blue Jays game with a friend, and they started talking about Trump early in the game.
“And he’s like, ‘How can you support that guy? That guy’s a racist,’ ” Vaughan said with a smile. “We got into a very heated argument and, like, five minutes later, we couldn’t even look at each other. And we’re sitting there the entire game.”