In the darkness of the night, with painted signs in hand, hundreds of people gathered at Washington University in St. Louis Nov. 11. They came with only one purpose: to show they choose peace and love over violence and hate.

“It was a community of people of different race, genders, sexualities and sexual preference coming together to fight for peace,” Hannah Moorhead, sophomore, said. “People are trying to come into a sense of ‘we’re going to be okay.’”

Moorhead attended the rally with Noah Rowan, sophomore, as an attempt to show they support all people regardless of differences and in doing so choose love over hate. At the rally, which, according to the Riverfront Times, was organized by a group of three Washington University students and a St. Louis University student in response to Trump’s election, people spoke about their experiences with discrimination and sexual assault.

“It was a way to unite all of these people who feel angry, sad and scared and to assure everyone that through love we can all stop the hate,” Rowan said. “Being able to witness all of these marginalized people expressing their anger and sadness as a straight, white male, it really touches you.”

Rallies and protests have been occurring in all corners of the country in response to Trump’s election. According to Moorhead, people have been reaching out to show they are allies and they will stand up for what other people believe in.

“I’m a straight white female and I have a lot of privilege, [but I was] able to see people who are the opposite of me, from religion to race to sexual preference,” Moorhead said. “It’s cool to see everyone’s differences and yet we’re all joined together.”

Rowan feels that after any election, there are feelings of division among people whose candidate did not win and those whose won, because many felt strongly about their candidate. According to him, it is important for people to come together despite their political views to eliminate hate and show support for people who are less privileged.

“Trump is not the candidate I would choose for this country,” Moorhead said. “But even though [someone] might not agree with this election, there’s still more that we can do.”

Moorhead said she respects other people’s opinions and does not want anyone to feel hated because of their views. According to her, with large groups of people coming together to show support for people who feel alone or scared, the country can take steps to eradicate hatred toward others.

“It was a gathering created by the student body to unite a community that is becoming more and more divided and to eliminate this rhetoric of hate that is being spread,” Rowan said. “There will always be people like me who want to fight hate with a message of love.