By Jennifer Ward, Arlenis Marmolejos and Natalie Tulloch
On Nov. 6 at 5:35 a.m., the Associated Press called the 2024 presidential election for Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is set to be the 47th president of the United States. (Photo via Getty Images)
This follows a tense race between Trump and the current Vice President and Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris. Trump received 295 electoral votes, and Harris received 226 electoral votes, not including Nevada and Arizona, which, at the time of this article, have not finished their counts.
“I woke up having a panic attack like my body already knew that something terrible was going to happen,” said student Emelie Madeira. “Regardless of who was going to win, something terrible would happen.”
Many students on campus expressed fears after the announcement of Trump's win, as they felt their rights were on the line.
“It is a scary time to have someone in power that threatens the very being of who you are and what your rights consist of,” said Brooklynn John, a junior theater design and technology major.
“People are worried that their rights are gonna get taken away, and if that happens, then I will be very disappointed in my pick,” said Valentino Scotto Di-Cesare, a junior arts management major. “But right now, everything's still fine. We're still living, you know, days go on, I think everything's gonna be fine.”
The Office of Student Affairs sent out a mass email to the student body on Nov. 5, sharing resources for students on campus who felt they may be impacted by the outcome.
“In the coming weeks, there will be opportunities for civil dialogue and discourse and to celebrate our diverse, accepting community,” the email wrote. “Regardless of national politics, please know our commitment to support our community will not waver.”
“Thank you for taking care of one another,” the email ended.
Cultural clubs Latine Unidos (LU), Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA) and Organization of the African People in the Americas (OAPIA) hosted a “Post Vote Vent” in the Multicultural Center on Nov. 6.
Alicia Garbutt, a senior playwriting and screenwriting major and the president of OAPIA, explained that the goal of the culture clubs was to create an atmosphere where students could come together to decompress and have open discussions.
Whether students were celebrating or feeling disappointed, “We wanted it to be a space no matter the results of the election where they can be around other people,” Garbutt said.
Some students also showed concerns about Trump’s alleged presidential transition project, Project 2025. Project 2025 highlights many policies that students have shown fear over such as a nationwide abortion ban, a ban on LGBTQ+ marriage, and anti-trans laws.
Students also expressed concern over Agenda 47, Trump's policy agenda, which according to Forbes, includes “stricter rules for schools, more hardline immigration policies, scrapping climate regulations and creating entirely new ‘freedom cities.’”
“I’m genuinely concerned about how the next four years will play out and to what extent he will implement Agenda 47 and Project 2025,” said Joseph Gerard Cereola, a senior studio composition major.
He continued, “I may not be a prime target as a [cisgender] [heterosexual] white man but so many of my friends and loved ones are a part of the minority groups Trump administration seeks to legislate out of existence. I’ve been reaching out to several of them to reassure them that I’ll be here to support them.”
The electoral votes map for the 2024 presidential election. (Photo via Associated Press)
Following the emotional highs and lows of election season, Wendy Morosoff, the director of the Career Development Center (CDC), explained how her “bold and hopeful smile” after casting her vote soon “turned to deeply felt sadness, anger, and disappointment post-election.” Morosoff encouraged students to “seek support from your friends, family and Purchase community.”
Some students took into consideration the United States’ economic stance in their voting. Trump proposed tariffs on the United States, which he claims will improve the country.
“While I am hopeful for the economics of the country, I am not so hopeful for those people who have really been the support beams for this economy,” said Joshua Anderson, a senior journalism major.
Students also criticized the campaign as a whole run by the Democratic party and particularly blamed them for the loss. Current President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, leaving Harris only 107 days to campaign.
“Disappointed that the Democratic party ran such a bad campaign, disappointed that Trump won the popular vote so handily, and scared about the Project 2025 plans, which could very well result in a holocaust,” said Noel Fletcher, a sophomore music studio production major.
“Kamala Harris treated the entire Democratic constituency like idiots, and this is what she gets,” Fletcher continued. “We need to oppose Republicans with equally-radical candidates from the other side of the spectrum, instead of moving the center to the Trump position, which is what Kamala Harris did repeatedly.”
“I always hated Trump, never liked Trump, never voted for Trump, until this year, and that being because of the sneaky stuff I saw the Democratic party doing,” said Scotto Di-Cesare. “I think the fact that Trump went on so many different podcasts and Kamala didn't made me see Trump as much more human than Kamala. I mean, I believe that they're both puppets, but I saw her as much more of a puppet than Trump.”
Scotto Di-Cesare emphasized how he is grateful not only Trump won, but that Proposition One was passed in New York. He also spoke about how he felt an issue is the two-party system, and he hopes that a Trump presidency will lead to people feeling the “need to appreciate America and not hate it so much.”
“We only got to this two-party system, which I think is completely fucked, I think we need more parties in there,” Scotto Di-Cesare said. “But until then, we only got the two-party system so we got to play the game.”
“Disappointed but not surprised,” said Ashley Friedman, a senior journalism major. “However, I think the future for our country is bleak no matter who is leading it.”
Jessica Mazzia DeLong, the assistant director at the CDC, shared her reaction to the recent election results, describing it as “even harder” to comprehend than the 2016 election. “For today, it's difficult to escape the sadness and fear of what lies ahead,” she said. “Hopefully that will pass into having hope again and taking action.”
Kamala Harris in her concession speech. (Photo via Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” said Harris, formally conceding to Trump before a crowd of supporters at Howard University.
In her remarks, Harris urged unity and declared, “We will engage in a peaceful transfer of power."
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