The results of the 2024 presidential election were confirmed this morning: Donald Trump has been re-elected as President of the United States. The outcome has unleashed strong feelings and an overall sense of sadness and dread across campus today. Students in the Journalism class express their initial thoughts about the Trump victory. – The Pigeon Press Staff
A senior:
The sun rose and my alarm went off at its normal hour but this time, I didn’t hit snooze. I grabbed my photo off the nightstand to see an Apple News notification on the screen. The heading read, “Trump Triumphs.” I set the phone down, resting my hands over my eyes and cried.
The night before, I’d had dreams of picking up my phone to read a different headline. One that would have me celebrating, not crying. I’d had dreams of living out my future in a country led by a woman, led by Kamala Harris. But this morning was not that dream. In fact, it was a nightmare for me and millions of other Americans. This felt like reliving a day that happened eight years ago. The difference being that I was nine in 2016 and blissfully unaware. Now, just two months away from 18, I’m devastated, disappointed and worried for my and others futures.
I question whether applying to just one Canadian college is enough. Can I even afford to put myself through college outside of the US? What will the next four years look like for me? What will it look like for others? Is paying that amount worth fleeing a country led by a convicted felon? I wonder if some voters realize they’re actively voting against what’s in their best interest.
Relief came over me when I remembered a president can only serve two terms, meaning this would be Trump’s last. But then I thought, what if they change the law? What if he worms his way through another loophole? How long will I live in this nightmare?
A freshman:
Last night, I was at a rehearsal for Alice by Heart trying to ignore the election. When I got home, I could see the unease on my mom’s face but I didn’t really know how to comfort her. We tried to distract ourselves by watching our favorite show but neither of us could fully invest in the plot. I found myself checking the polls from time to time. I went to sleep around 10pm with a hopeful sense that Kamala might win.
The next morning, I woke up late rushing in a panic to make sure I got to school on time. My mom was quiet. I looked at my phone and there it was: Donald Trump had won the presidential election. At first I was just so dumbfounded I didn’t know what to do. Then I thought back to the first time he had won.
I was only six at the time but I vividly remember my dad telling me Trump had won. Though I didn’t fully understand what that meant, I knew it was bad. I remember I started bawling and I ran into my room. My dad followed me and tried to explain to me that it was going to be okay and that we would get through this. Now, eight years later, he is president again and I genuinely don’t know what to do. I just feel so helpless. Some part of me still has hope that maybe things will turn out okay but my gut tells me that this country is screwed.
A junior:
True terror has not set in yet, only a shockingly vivid feeling of foreboding. Trump’s election has settled on us but the effects have not. Friends, family and millions of Americans are holding their breath in anticipation, the only question that remains being, “What comes next?” Nobody knows the answer, but there is no truly good outcome, and that is what I fear. We are tediously inching towards a world that feels more dangerous and chilling than we have ever known, and it feels inescapable. I fear for my family in Kansas and my female friends. I fear for my aunt, a Latina single mother of three. I fear for our country’s future and for my own.
A freshman:
Last night, when the polls were coming in, I went to a group gathering to be with friends. To say we were stressed is an understatement. We were terrified and a little bit hopeful. Most of us were trying to ignore the polls, but even when we were away from the television we found ourselves checking live updates on our phones. By 10:00 PM my family went home. I tried to go to bed, but sleep was impossible for me. I was able to stay off screens and instead found myself stress-cleaning my room and attempting to read or do homework. Before I knew it my alarm was going off. I decided to take a pause even though it was hard to not look.
I ate breakfast thinking about what I was going to see when I opened my phone or computer and then went back up to my room where I looked at my email. There were probably 10 news articles about the election, and the first one I saw said Trump had won. I wasn’t surprised that he won because of how the polls looked when I went to bed, but the hope that made sleep possible last night, my hope for our country, was crushed with the thought that Trump, a convicted felon, was somehow going to become our president again. I could feel my eyes welling up. I didn’t and still don’t understand how people could not see the bad things this man has done and maybe thought about their choice in voting for him. When I arrived at school today we all really just sat in silence sharing sad looks every once and a while. When we were told it was time for our first class some of us started to cry. This isn’t all just a bad dream. I know I need to try to be somewhat optimistic for my friends and family but it’s also going to be hard when our country just re-elected someone who has proven to us he is not fit to lead our country.
A freshman:
Yesterday, I was working on homework, darting my eyes to the voting poll tab on my computer. It was extremely worrying how close the numbers were. I finished up my assignments and went to bed. I woke up to my father telling me that Trump had won. I was unsurprised by the fact that he won seeing as Trump’s votes were continually higher than Kamala’s. I got ready for school, but the entire house was quieter than usual. Even before the final call was made, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to go well. The celebrities that I follow on social media were all endorsing Kamala, but the commenters were all saying how Trump is who they will vote for. It just scares me how uneducated people in the U.S. can be, not knowing how Trump is so insensitive to everything that is going on in the world. I remember my mother saying that one of the main reasons why Trump isn’t the right person to vote for was because of the fact that Trump only cared about America, and was indifferent to Palestine, Ukraine, etc. He didn’t even believe that climate change was real. My mother and I were talking about how when the next election occurs my parents would have already moved to a different country and I would have left for college. We talked about places that I could live in that had a stable government and were safe and supportive of my rights as a human. I remember when Trump was elected in 2016, and I was six at the time, so I didn’t know what to think. Earlier in the year I thought that Trump did not have a chance in winning due to how a lot of people were against him in the election of 2020, and how many people were endorsing Kamala.
A sophomore:
I remember eight years ago, when Trump won for the first time. I was seven then, and although I knew Trump was bad, I did not fully understand what his election meant for this country and the world as a whole. This time, I do. I am terrified. I am scared for my rights as a queer person. I am scared of the environmental impact a Trump presidency will have. But I am most scared for others. People with less privilege than me. Women and trans people living in red states. People living in areas affected by climate change. The people of Ukraine. The people of Palestine. Perhaps most painful has been seeing my little sister’s reaction to the news. She is too young to have to be planning how to save the environment, but she feels like she has to.
When I realized last night that Harris was not going to win, a blank feeling of despair set in. I sat on the floor, staring into space. I cried. I tried to read a book, but it felt too frivolous. What snapped me out of this funk, to a degree, was listening to a podcast. It was an interview with R. Derek Black, a former white nationalist and child of a KKK member turned antiracist, who recently came out as trans. Listening to them gave me resolve. Their story reminded me that even in the darkest times, we can move forward, and even the people most entrenched in hate have the potential to change. Perhaps our country will emerge better from this destruction. While I am still shocked and grieving at the results of this election, I am determined not to resign myself to this situation. I will not give up on my community. I will not give up on our future.
A junior:
As I sit here reflecting on the news of Trump’s re-election, a wave of nausea washes over me. I can hardly comprehend how, after everything Trump has done, so many people could overlook it all. It feels gross and inexplicable, like a betrayal of the progress we fought so hard to recover after his last term. A feeling of disappointment and sadness takes over me as I think about the implications for all of our futures. I feel appalled, not just for myself but for the countless individuals and communities who will be affected by his actions. It’s disheartening to witness what appears to be an embrace of intolerance and ignorance, and I can’t help but wonder how we ended up here again. Frankly, I am terrified for my future and my rights, and I’m only 16.
A senior:
So what the hell do we do now? When I got home last night I saw a YouTube video that I found comforting. It was from The Daily Show, which can usually provide me with a few laughs. Jon Stewart, the host, is a man I deeply admire. He opened the video with a glimpse (or rather a lack of a glimpse) into the future. “We don’t know sh**,” he said. This validated the way I had felt the past few days; I was scared of not knowing. He told his audience that this was not the end of civilization. For years, every election was made to seem like we were on the very brink of total destruction.
There is no doubt in my mind that the 2024 election will have real consequences. There clearly will be, and I’m f’n terrified. But this is not the end of my life. This is an opportunity to try again, and keep working harder to make the country and the world a better place. This election is not an excuse for anyone to cash out and give up. We are Americans. We are not stopping this fight until we’re dead and gone.
