A protest organized by the “Unite the Right” white nationalist group had hundreds gathered in protest and counter protest of removing a confederate statue in Virginia on Aug. 9. One was killed and nine were injured when James Alex Fields Jr. ran his car into counter-protesters.

“It’s kind of angering, to be honest,” junior Mark Perez said. “I would imagine that we came past all the racism and everything after the 60s but it still lives with us today and that’s kinda sad.”

Since the incident, a torrent of events and public displays of opinion have followed.

Confederate statues have started rapidly coming down around the country. According to the New York Times, Baltimore, Maryland saw the removal of four monuments. In Durham, Maryland a Confederate statue that stood in front of the county courthouse since 1924 was toppled by protesters. A college in Austin, Texas removed three confederate statues, and in Brooklyn, New York two plaques honoring Robert E. Lee have been removed.

Junior Caleb O’Neil does not necessarily have an opinion on the incidents.

“Personally, I don’t like being mean to other races,” O’Neil said.

It’s not just statues coming down from the aftershocks of Charlotte either. Chicago Tribune and the New York Times show opinions of Donald Trump dropping to new lows due to his hesitation of two days in denouncing the violence, as well as equating the counter-protesters to Neo-Nazis.

“Well, I do think there’s blame — yes, I think there’s blame on both sides. You look at both sides. I think there’s blame on both sides,” Trump said at his press conference held in Trump Towers.

At school, opinions differ about Trump’s comments.

Senior Josh Bloomfield considers himself in line with President Trump’s views.

“There is blame on both sides and a lot of aspects are balanced on both sides,” Bloomfield said.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, sophomore Amber Dotson had trouble putting words to what she believed through her anger.

“I am disgusted that there was such a large gathering of ‘white rights’ rallies,” Dotson said. “(The whole situation) makes me physically ill.”  

Senior Peter Avila is somewhere in the middle.

“Just seeing what happened in Charlottesville, it just shook me,” Avila said. “To be honest I’m not on any side, I just think that (the woman who was run over) spoke her opinion and she did not deserve to get killed.”

Junior Tim Brewer is mainly disappointed.

“It’s a little childish,” Brewer said, “We should guide each other, not fight over something that could be fixed if we all just got along.”