The day after the election, students on Delta College’s main campus talked about the drawbacks and advantages of another Donald Trump presidency
By Mikaila Bluew
Wednesday Nov. 6 marked the end of the monumental 2024 election; Donald Trump was named the president of the United States for his second nonconsecutive term, and the emotion across Delta College’s campus was tangible.
An uncertain understanding echoed through the halls as students discussed their concerns of what the next four years could look like for the U.S.
“I’m interested to see in the next week or so how publicly people are going to be acting,” said student Kate Sulfridge. “As far as 2020 I remember there were people going through the streets yelling things, so I am interested and concerned to see what will happen.”
Although students were unsure of how the public may respond to the election, most felt there would be both advantages and drawbacks of another term with the Trump administration.
“He’s a businessman, so he’s going to be good at it in some senses, but he’s going to be bad at it in others,” said Delta student Katie Emmendorfer. “So, we may have cheaper gas prices, but we’re not going to have the healthcare advantages that we had previously.”
Many students felt his ability to help the flow of the economy in America is his strength as a leader, hoping for lower prices and tax breaks for citizens of the United States.
“I think the economy might get better, but I also think certain unethical things could happen,” said student Brady Baranek.
Issues regarding healthcare and bodily autonomy from Trump’s previous presidency garnered fear for what the future will hold for individual freedom.
“Him being elected, and Republicans controlling the House and Senate, for me personally it’s a direct threat,” said student Aya Kirn. “They specifically don’t like trans people, or LGBT+ people. Potentially one of their first targets will be planned parenthood and abortion; if abortion goes then so do my hormones.”
Trump’s role in overturning Roe v Wade left students questioning if he will stand by his statements from this year’s campaign regarding a national ban on abortion.
“I’m sure there are some positive things that he could do, but it was really Roe v Wade for me,” Nya Meeks says. “(He’s) taking away women’s rights, and that’s something we worked hard for.”
Though students expressed uncertainty, some also urged the public to not panic for the long-term stability of the country.
“I’ve been around for a lot of elections; they’ve never been as controversial as what’s going on right now,” said student Brandon Hillaker. “We’ve had good presidents, we’ve had bad presidents, and the one good thing about this country is we only get them for four years.”
Hillaker stressed that the United States will not crumble in the next four years and that unpopular presidents are nothing new in American history.
Across campus, students reiterated the importance of voting to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. Some students touched on how not voting impacts the outcome of an election more than people think.
Delta student Lamone Brown reflected on Trump’s previous presidency, and what the ‘red wave’ might mean for his next term.
“I think most people know that his run in 2016 was not very good,” Brown said. “The border was not very good, and I feel like that’s only going to be heightened because now he has more time.”
Brown discussed why she felt Harris fell short in the presidential race, stressing the importance of researching policies and voting during election cycles.
“I think it was in the millions where people weren’t going out and voting, they just didn’t know enough about her (Kamala’s) policy and what she stands for,” Brown said. “That’s very unfortunate that they didn’t feel enough willpower to go out and help. I will just say that maybe we should all go out and research more.”
The final theme discussed amongst students is that we should not allow this election to further divide us as a country. Students felt community and support will be essential in keeping our personal liberties and bodies free from the government.
“We’ve already built a community. Not even just the democratic party but (also) women and the LGBTQIA+ community,” student Hal Reed said. “We have already established some support, and our community is growing every day–just because the outcome wasn’t that great–we have so much support and people we can lean on. There is just so much love that we can produce ourselves.”
