Well, the 2016 election has officially concluded. While the outcome was surely a surprise for many, America now faces the following reality: Donald Trump is the president-elect, and the Congress majority has become wholly Republican.
Reactions varied across the nation, but on North Central’s campus, the atmosphere can generally be summed in a lone word: anxious. We at the Chronicle asked around, collecting student thoughts on what was undoubtedly a historical election.
There was a post-election discussion at noon today in the White Activites Center, that served as more of a Clinton-supporter therapy session. Tatiana Sifri, director of Dyson Wellness Center, was present along with donuts and tissue boxes. People relayed their concerns from this election especially from the minority and LGBTQ perspective. Parents expressed their struggle to discuss the Trump victory with their children. The political science professors pointed out the unusual nature of the need for a post-election discussion.
“As an immigrant and a sexual assault survivor, I am terrified. I am terrified for all victims, for our future kids, and for this country as a whole. Acceptance is my current struggle and I’m not giving up. Have hope and faith that everything will be OK because as President Obama said: ‘No matter who wins, the sun will rise in the morning.'” –Stella Fanega (’17)
“Donald Trump winning is a blatant message to Washington, D.C. that something isn’t right. The fact that an outsider candidate can beat a political dynasty member such as Hillary Clinton shows that people aren’t happy with the direction our country is headed. Whether you voted for Trump or not, he ran a campaign with a message of change, and that’s what resonated with the voters this cycle. As far as the Republicans controlling the House, Senate and White House, it’s a huge win for the Republican Party that most people thought was divided.” – Connor McGury (’18)
“I am honestly kind of surprised with the results last night. It was a very close race. There’s a lot of fear going around, but I hope that America is able to bind together during this time. As a Republican, it will be great to see a Republican president, House and Supreme Court which hasn’t happened in a while. I may not be a big supporter of Trump, but I am interested to see what he will get done in the next four years.” – Madeline Klepec (’18)
“My best friend called me from Colorado and started yelling on the phone when he was announced as president. We basically just sat on the phone for a half hour crying.” – Yesenia Nunez (’17)
“I put out a message this morning about the election. We did live coverage and throughout the entire night everyone grew increasingly worried. My post on our staff page said essentially said that we need to stick together against all the extra allowance of hate. And that even though we may not agree with everyone, we have to be respectful. I love my kids at WONC and it’s difficult to see them this scared and upset. We did have to set guidelines about hate and bias speech and choosing your words. That goes for everyone, though.” – Lizzie Baumgartner (’17)
Photo by Bob Tomaszewski
“This election I’ve never been so terrified by a candidate in my entire life. This is literally affecting me, my friends, my family, everyone I know in negative ways. When I was going on Tumblr and these different social media sites there was literally suicide hotlines for people because people are so terrified. He has that much of an impact on people. … It is just crazy how much power he has and it’s not OK, he’s an authoritarian.” – Melissa Vanderberk (’20)
“I am a LGBT and I am a part of that community and it’s terrifying. Especially Pence as the vice president having the mentality he has towards LGBTQ people. It’s terrifying. We’ve taken so many steps forward and now we’re at this point. Now we’re probably going to be taking some steps back.” – Ash SaLee (’19)
“America is like an angsty teen and it has no idea what it is doing right now.” – Eduenis Navarro (’19)
