Pacific Index

Students share their feelings and opinions of the presidential election results

   At the Election Night Watch Party, there was an atmosphere tense and anxiety inducing, with every unveiled state that Trump won, audible tongue clicks and groans filled the room.

As Donald Trump won key battleground states of Georgia and Florida, Darren Bradbury sat at a table alone, typing his thoughts of the election and what he was witnessing into his phone. He shared his initial response to Trump’s gains over the key states, saying, “There’s a whole lot of red on the board, and I gotta say I’m really nervous.” He continued, sharing, “One of the things that I’m really concerned about is how easily misunderstood certain policies are by design, as well as how disingenuous both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are in their rhetoric and promises. It’s also concerning how, on both sides, voters are only following emotions and really aren’t making an effort to understand who and what they are voting for.” 

   Bradbury dove deeper into his main political focal points, saying, “Money trails are also a big issue of mine, specifically ones tied to oil and tech, and how deeply indebted both parties are to them.” He paused for a second. “I have to say, I’m really disgusted with the Democratic party and horrified at the precedent their undemocratic actions have set. Their kneecapping of the Green Party in certain states was one of the reasons I didn’t vote for them and chose Jill Stein instead, also because a Green Regime would be the most combative to climate change.”

More students spoke out as the evening went on. One such student, who requested anonymity, spoke on her political opinions, “Political literacy, honestly, is at an extreme low. With polarization, and vibes based political views, it’s no wonder why Trump did so well with Gen-Z and college students.” Again, misunderstanding and misinformation proves to be a main concern of students. “As Americans we’re given a very small, and in a lot of ways, insignificant hand in government, but it’s the only legal way of making our voices heard, and many of our peers are allowing it to be warped into supporting tax cuts for billionaires and self gain.” 

When asked on how these students can educate themselves, she responded, “In a lot of ways, unless they take major strides to educate themselves and stop approaching politics in the polarized, emotion based, ‘Trump is good for the country because I said so’ way, and really take a great deal of time and energy to understand what they’re voting on and what the effects of the politician they voted for will be, then they’re stuck the way they are. Willful ignorance is really hard to break.”

   As Trump pulled ahead in the race, and was eventually named the 47th President of the United States, emotions on-campus flared. Senior Dyllun Grundon spoke on the results the day after the election, expressing his dissatisfaction with the outcome. “Every single one of Trump’s plans and policies is beyond stupid, specifically looking at tariffs. If you really wrap your head around tariffs or mass deportations, it’s pretty clear that it’ll be disastrous for the average consumer and American.” While Grundon made his opinions on Trump clear, he didn’t rush to defend Kamala Harris either. “Kamala Harris’ campaign and speaking points were pretty awful, and in all fairness she deserved to lose. She did everything she could to alienate the entirety of the American working class and didn’t address major concerns of the average voter– meaning cost of living and healthcare.” 

   A 2017 Pacific graduate compared his experience of Trump’s election during the 2016 campaign to the results of this election. “When Trump got elected it was really tense. All this anger and resentment was really boiling under the surface. You could just tell that people were angry at each other over every possible issue. I can’t imagine the tension that’s happening right now.” 

   There has undoubtedly been tension, but some students are more worried about the effects of this tension than they are about the winning candidate. A student, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke candidly, “I feel pretty passive all things considered, politically speaking.” Many other students echoed this perspective, but that doesn’t mean they feel no impact from the election. “I’m more concerned about the social impact of possible tension, specifically on campus.”