For a majority of students at the University of Redlands, 2016 marked the first time they were eligible to vote in a Presidential election. The day unfolded as any other, full of classes and daily schedules, the only nuance was the President-Elect would be announced that night. But for the politically inclined, there was a bustling energy. Students gathered in SLIC throughout the day to watch the nation’s votes come in. By the end of the night, students learned, with the rest of the nation, that the President-Elect of the United States was Donald Trump. Some wept, some celebrated, and some stayed silent.
The quotes below are from students at the University in regards to how they felt about the election. Quotes were comprised by the Redlands Bulldog staff on the day of, and the day after, the election. Students were asked questions varying from “How are you feeling today?” “What are your predictions for the election?” and “What does this mean to you?”
Many students were hesitant, and some refused, to share their voice. Some would only speak anonymously. This further illustrates the intensity of the election and the conflicting viewpoints of voters not only across our nation, but also across our campus. Some may feel that our campus swings far too left and some may feel that the University of Redlands is a more conservative space. Regardless, this is a way for the student body to be heard as a collective.
Election Day: Nov. 8, 2016
“I feel flashbacked to 2008. I feel the same anticipation that day in middle school. I think both candidates aren’t my prime pick, but I had to find an ultimatum and that’s what I voted for. I wish I was voting for my true moral views and the candidates weren’t so corrupt. I’m leaving it up to fate.” -Taryn Fowlkes
“This election is a joke! Regardless, it is important to vote! Especially for local elections. Can we have a dog for president?” -Halie West
“I kind of feel like we’re screwed either way, but there’s a lesser of two evils here. I think I’m voting for one candidate as the opposition of the other, not because I fully support the candidate I’m voting for.” -Leah Smith
“I’ve heard way too much about the election. It’s been over sensationalized. I’m voting third party because I don’t like the way the media covers either party.” -Torrey Rotellini
“I voted by ballot on Sunday and I felt confident in voting for Hillary, I haven’t checked the polls and my brother told me she’s in four point lead. I feel that we would be in good hands and I’m not too fond of the other choice and I’m afraid because it seems to be neck and neck.” –
Brie Brullo
“Nervous!!! I’m on my way to go vote!” -April Hong
“I’m nervous and I wasn’t nervous until today because now it feels real. But I’m also confident that America will come out stronger from this election.” -Tracy Ennesser
“I am really nervous because of the propositions especially in California that need to get passed. 56 was about tobacco use, I think it’s really important to prevent lung cancer. There’s a lot of propositions that I hope people read up on because they can be really influential and you can take more away from this election than just the candidates.” -Becky Matthews
“I’m with her! I’m just really excited for the election to be over and have our first female president! It’s a big day for women’s rights.” -Megan Feeney
“I’m a little bit panicked. I’ve seen on social media and I don’t know if it’s the people I follow or my location, I’ve seen so many people that are pro-Trump and it scares me. I am legitimately scared for our country and accepting humans is more crucial than money. I am pro-Bernie, but I can’t support someone who dehumanizes people. It’s more than politics.” -Sydney Rapp
“It’s important to have a president who will respect people outside of just one identity.” -Josie Diether-Martin
“I’m a little nervous and stressed out. I’m voting later today.” -Harlan Long
“Personally I think Hillary is a weak president, but based on the options we have no other choice. I think there’s a lot of fear, but Donald Trump has no chance.” -Alison Anders
“I’m nervous, but I also feel confident, but I don’t know if that’s appropriate. I don’t get how he could get elected. I am sticking with my vibes.” -Scout Dahms-May
“I’m a little nervous, but I’m hopeful that Hillary wins and that what most of the country is feeling in that direction.” -Jacob Caplan
“I’m a little worried, not stoked about anything. But hopefully after we have our first female president we can move on to do other great things.” -Thomas Maul
“Obama, four more years please!” -Brenna Phillips
“I’ve seen a lot of people wearing the Thurber 2016 shirt and people are expressing political views. I think it’s great that we have polling in Orton Center and I’ve seen a lot of students voting.” -Erik Chazin
“I am not as anxious as I was leading up to the [election] as I am today because I am confident that Hillary will make it based on the electoral vote. The popular vote might be close, but the electoral vote is what is what matters.” -Tina Elias
“I’m with her!” -Emily Ross
“I’m okay! It’s like a Tuesday!” -Daria Miller
“I’m concerned, I don’t want either candidate to be president, but at the end of the day, I don’t want Trump more. This is just a bad election. It’s up in the air.” -Anonymous
“I’m trying to stay as neutral as possible, but I don’t attune to either.” -Braeden Shaw
“I think that as a more liberal minded person, it is easier for me to see the more liberal side of campus. When I encounter people with conservative views it takes me by surprise even though it’s something I grew up with. I’m a bit terrified today. It’s my first election and I don’t love either candidate, but I’m certainly not voting for Donald Trump. I want my vote to count and have an impact. Not that a green candidate wouldn’t have an impact. It’s more important in this election that one candidate isn’t elected than me voting my favorite candidate. I was thinking about Hillary winning and I teared up in joy and I thought about what would happen in a Trump presidency and I started crying out of fear.” -Anonymous
“I love that we have voting on campus! And whether your beliefs be Trump or Hillary it sparked a larger discussion on campus. I’m with Hillary.” -Lidya Stamper
“I think our campus does a great job with inclusion and policies with educating people with race and marginalized people who don’t like Trump. Split between truth and beliefs. About what you feel, while some parties advocate what is true and that has created the split that is today.” -Elliot Thompson
“You know it really feels like a load off of my shoulders, just because of how unique the election went about, and how i hate to say it this way, as a millennial my source of information was so uniquely acquired. Years down the line, no matter what happened, people are going to ask you how you voted, and no matter who you voted for, you better have an answer for that. So that really pushed me to come out and vote. I am excited for the outcome. Based on the quantitative studies, it seems like it’s going to be pretty easy for Hillary, which is amazing. But you never know.” -Sara Ameri
“I am a bit nervous because this is California. Our votes do matter, but at the same time it’s a blue state so the electoral college will probably vote the same way it always does. We’ll see. I don’t mind that it’s a blue state. I voted for my conscience. I know that it doesn’t really matter. Who i voted for doesn’t matter because it was a write in. it doesn’t matter, but I did it for me.” -Eduardo Rivera
“I am actually a little excited. I feel like i have to buckle in and it’s going to be a ride no matter what way it goes.Predictions? I don’t think the GOP is going to elect Trump win. Although I think going state by state, if you assume the worst of people, trump would be the winner of this election. But i don’t think that the way our system is set up it would be allowed. My prediction is hillary. I am pretty confident in that. I kind of want to see what [trump says] if he loses. It’s not going to be a peaceful transition of power which we pride ourselves in here in america. It will be interested in seeing how that goes down.” -Miles Speegle
“Hopefully Clinton wins but I honestly think it’s going to be close. I think there is a possibility Trump might win. I think the school is leaning probably more towards Clinton than Trump, but i think there is a significant amount of students who are supporting Trump. Which I think is good to have both sides as a part of the conversations. I think our country is facing this nervousness, I think that’s a pretty common human emotion when it comes to something like this. This is going to be a leader of your community, you know, your country.” -Jacob Khouri
“Well I had two homework assignment that were really just hard to do. I looked at the problems and it was stuff I had learned, I was pretty confident in it. I just couldn’t do it. The rest of my day will entail either joy or sorrow. One of the two.” -William Dahlin
The day after: Nov. 9
“I look around at all of my white colleagues and wonder which of them want me gone.” -Anonymous
“Personally, I didn’t favor either candidate so I don’t know how I feel. But I favored Hillary more than Trump. But I didn’t like either.” -Liran Koropitzer
“I am in shock that our country is working this way.” -Anonymous
“Well here’s my perspective on the election, as a conservative. During this time of victory, I only taste defeat. I ask, why? We are Americans, frontiersmen of the west, explorers of the unknown. The roots of which we stand have grown deep under our tendering. United, we are a luminous sun radiating a beacon of liberty. Division amongst ideologies stand as the greatest threat we have ever encountered. To not look past our differences is a fool’s gambit. Take the actions from this election as you will, but do not deny the truth. The revelation has started.” -Nestor Fuerte, in a digital message
“I remember I was watching my friend’s snapchat and LMU was basically rioting. Why isn’t our campus angry right now? This campus is conservative.” -Ysabel Yutangco
“It’s sunny and great outside.” -Anonymous
“I am heated. Everything Obama built up, Trump will tear it all down. Society is taking a step back.” -Matthew Hayashi
“I think the campus feels quiet, it’s like after a horrible tragedy has struck and everyone is in shock. Everyone is really surprised and nobody saw this coming.” -Hunter Dersch
“I’m very disappointed, but a lot of people feel disappointed. I’m disappointed in people who don’t understand how this happened. I keep reading [Facebook] posts and how we’re suppose to work together and move forward and I don’t know how to tolerate immorality. I don’t how to be okay with it.” -Ellie Obrochta
“Not happy with the way people are handling the results. I can’t express my happiness, I am content with the outcome and if I express my happiness, people will attack me! I am a minority, I am conservative, I am very religious and people think something is wrong with me. Honestly I don’t see that way. Anyone with a conservative mindset opinions aren’t welcome here.” -Anonymous
“I feel like our campus is very liberal, and my friends are evenly distributed, and I am conservative, which is hard” -Anonymous
“A lot of people have very passionate opinions, and while I do, I am still processing. I despise him. I’m still in a denial phase of grieving. I’m not prepared to go to forums and talk when it seems like everyone else is” -Zoe Peterson
“I’m feeling both optimistic and scared and I don’t know how someone can feel those things at the same time. The fear of the unknown, what will happen, anything can happen. It’s scary, anything can happen.” -Talia Marder Adams
“I am sad and speechless. I had no words last night, I just cried. Some of my friends got married in May. Is this going to be nullified? I’m afraid for the children. Bullying is up in schools.” -Stephanie Schoppe
“I heard someone say I voted for Trump in Spanish. My hispanic friend on the football team said half the team chanting build a wall. Last night my friends were scared to go outside. A non- binary person in a class said they were scared of being attacked and men yelled at her that they were generalizing all Trump supporters.” -Julie Donohue
“Get fired up, I’m just confused. I’m frustrated.” -Theo Whitcomb
“I feel like our campus is very separated right now and angry. We need to start being optimistic and see that it is our country and we have a democracy. This didn’t come out of nowhere. Personally, I’m against him and he did win, but we have to move forward together.” -Nando Martinez
“I’m speechless and after some initial hopelessness, I am feeling a call to action or reinvigoration of passion!” -Ben Swank
“Just deal with the results.” -Sammy Mouazzen
“It makes me want to cry.” -Daria Jackson
“The election is a representation everything wrong with America.” -Anonymous
“On election night, among many others, I was paralyzed with fear. I was devastated and heartbroken and woke up the next morning unable to fathom a world with Donald Trump as president. Just 24 hours before, I had left the polls with tears in my eyes, hopeful that I could witness the glass ceiling shattering. But instead I had witnessed a country I thought I knew elect a man that ran a campaign based on hate. I didn’t know what to do next. But, as the results settled in, I began to see this as an opportunity, a call to action. I am ready to fight for what I believe in, since the government will not. And I hope I’m not alone. As one of my professors put it, ‘Just because you lose, doesn’t not mean you go home.’ This is a time to stand up for what we believe in.” -Summer Stafford, in a digital message.
“As much as I dislike Trump, I honestly see this election as a blessing in disguise. It has really showed (and is still continuing to show) that racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia is still very apparent in the U.S.; places where we, as American citizens, together need to grow out of. We all need to learn from these distressing growing pains and hopefully use them as a way to spring ourselves forward.” -Shree Kaser, in a digital message
“I’m excited that we may begin to protect the unborn again from being murdered” -Anthony Camargo, in a digital message.
“Trump was never my first choice, but I will always think he is better than Clinton who ignored US citizens in Benghazi and who took confidential emails lightly. Also shoutout to Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, the first WOMAN to lead a winning presidential campaign in the United States.” -Gina MacIsaac, in a digital message.
