Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States, and students have been discussing the outcome all throughout SRU.
SRU extended its walk-in counseling hours to 8 a.m to 3 p.m. on Nov. 6 in case students needed extra support. This service is usually available from 12-3 p.m.
Many have taken to social media to discuss their feelings. Some students claimed to be in mourning, wearing all-black as a visual representation.
“I woke up and checked my phone and immediately felt nauseous…felt I was truly mourning the loss of democracy like it was a family member,” Lucy, a student who is involved with WSRU-FM, said.
An anonymous student reported they were “just surprised” and they “didn’t know which way it was gonna fall.”
Students described the anticipation leading up to the election and the relief they feel at knowing the results.
“Just glad it was over honestly, all the build up. I was glad they finally made a decision at least,” one student said. His friend interrupted with “Hell yeah!” before the student finished his statement: “I think a good candidate won, hopefully the next four years will prosper.”
Others agreed they were pleased with the outcome. “It’s beautiful,” one student wrote on social media as the caption to a photo of the electoral map.
“Personally I am happy with the outcome of this election,” an anonymous student said. “I voted in 2020 for Joe Biden, and honestly I was very disappointed in the way he ran office…My family owns a small business as well, during Trump’s time in office there were so many benefits for them…I have hope in Trump to continue out his plan and overall make the economy better.”
Harris voters also said they had economic concerns but did not feel good about the race’s outcome.
“Gonna be so excited when they get rid of the Department of Education and my dream job of working in a head start program is no longer an option,” An SRU student, S.W, said. “There would go my 20k in student loans for nothing.”
Other issues important to SRU students were gas prices and inflation, protection of democracy, abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
“Abortion and gun control have always been a large aspect of the way I want to vote, but honestly I have struggled with affording things I have in the past and along with my family,” the anonymous Trump voter said. “My daily living has been impacted as well so that is a large reason I voted for Trump.”
Students also discussed the Israel-Hamas war.* Progressive voters claim this may have hurt Harris’s chances against Trump.
“I think she went wrong with her stances on Palestine, but I also think her leaning right like Biden did just might’ve not been the move for this election,” English major Grey Tunstall said.
Tunstall said she was very disappointed in the outcome of the election.
“My reaction at first was rage; Anger that my rights would be taken away in favor of grocery prices,” she said. “Then it turned to devastation that men would rather watch the world burn than vote for a qualified black woman…I don’t think I live in a bubble, but maybe I do with just how much hope I had.”
Sean is an SRU student who feels similar to Tunstall.
“I’m upset as a progressive, a trans woman and a political science student,” they said. “It’s upsetting to see such low turnout for the Democratic Party as I think they had the better policies for the future of America…these results are upsetting as they can mostly be credited to the American people not really understanding the issues they said were the most important to them.”
However, some students say they are not too concerned about the outcome either way. An SRU senior who did not vote was asked how he felt about the electoral results.
“[I’m] indifferent, I guess. I just hope s— goes well,” he said.
YikYak is an app where SRU students can post anonymously. There have been a variety of posts from all sides, including:
- F— y’all for bashing everyone that voted for trump! WE WON B—-
- Idk what it is but The air smells more affordable today #trump
- I love waking up to pissed off liberals. Best feeling
- The college student that votes for trump must be the stupidest b—- alive because guess what b—–s no more [FAFSA] for youuuu thanks to project 2025
- Y’all would really rather vote for a felon who openly says he pr[e]ys on the uneducated, than for a woman?
- What r u guys gonna do when he’s inaugurated and inflation doesn’t magically go down
- America has spoken. Democrats need to accept it. Calling trump supporters names doesn’t change the results. Sorry, Yinz lost.
One student wrote, “To all the hot liberal women: I’m sorry this is so tragic. To all the hot conservative women: Congratulations this is amazing. To all the hot independent women: Who cares.”
*Note: Associated Press decided the official name for the conflict in Gaza is the Israel-Hamas war.
