When Donald Trump secured a poll-shattering admission to the Oval Office in 2016, it left many Boston College students in disarray.
But if the 2016 presidential election was the unforeseen earthquake, the result of the 2024 presidential election was more akin to an aftershock.
“It’s not a surprise, but it’s hard to believe I guess,” said Aidan Kelley, WCAS ’25.
Kelley said the news of Trump’s Wednesday morning win struck an audible chord among the student body as they carried on with their weeks.
“There’s just definitely an air of seriousness or solemnity,” Kelley said.
Josie Dougherty, MCAS ’26, also said she was overwhelmed but not surprised by the election’s results. Dougherty said she suspected some students were taking the day to sit with their feelings rather than going through the motions of a typical Wednesday.
“There were some classes that were half empty,” Dougherty said.
For most students, this is their first time experiencing a Trump victory since middle school or elementary school. Evan Mirabella, MCAS ’25, said she remembers Trump’s election in 2016 making polarizing and lasting changes to her middle school’s social sphere—changes she hopes do not recur.
“For some reason, I just can’t imagine another four years,” Mirabella said. “It just never hit me.”
While many students said they were unvexed by the election’s outcome, not all students felt prepared for the reality of a Trump victory. Kaitlyn Gyamfi, CSOM ’27, said Wednesday’s results took her by surprise.
“I feel like the sort of media that I consumed made it seem like Harris was a lot more popular than she maybe was in America as a whole,” Gyamfi said. “There were some aspects of his campaign that were just blatantly racist, and I did think that his comments on democracy were a threat.”
Taking Pause
The Division of Student Affairs held a “Post Election Pause” on the fourth floor of Maloney Hall on Wednesday afternoon, offering pizza, wellness resources, and stress-relief activities for students following the election.
While many political analysts did not anticipate such a timely verdict for the presidential election, BC wanted to prepare early for student needs during this election cycle, according to Judy Oxford, associate director at the Center for Student Wellness.
COVID-19 made election reflections an enigma of digital disconnection in 2020, but the left-field outcome of the 2016 presidential election put an unexpected strain on student wellness, Oxford said.
“They just didn’t see that this was going to be such a challenge for students when it came to the elections,” Oxford said. “So, knowing how contentious this was … we realized we needed to start doing some things beforehand.”
Lynn Walsh-Blair, assistant director for diversity and outreach at University Counseling Services, tabled at the “Post Election Pause,” distributing resources and pointing students in the direction of mental health services needed in the wake of the election.
Walsh-Blair said while the general response to Tuesday’s election largely mirrors the morosity that riddled campus in 2016, having the precedent of a Trump presidency dulls the blow this time around.
“Part of it is because it was unknown,” Walsh-Blair said. “There’s something today that feels like it’s still unknown.”
Gender Divides and Party Lines
During the two-hour election-unpacking event, flocks of students came in to scavenge from the towers of pizza boxes, many taking a moment or two to chat with friendly faces around the room before leaving and carrying on with their days.
But of the select few who took seats at the tables, took advantage of the wellness resources offered, and paused to reflect on the day, the majority were women.
“This particular election, of course, certainly hit home a lot more for women, just because of the candidate herself,” Oxford said. “I mean, it makes sense to me that women have walked around and looked at each other and said, ‘How are you doing?’”
Some students at BC spent Wednesday celebrating, pleased by the election’s outcome and excited for a four-year Trump revival—recent posts on Herrd can attest as much, according to some students at the “Post Election Pause.”
But by the estimate of Peter Kwiatek, assistant dean for community engagement and one of the facilitators of the event, the majority of students in attendance were hoping for a different outcome to the election.
“My sense is that feelings are running the gambit today,” Kwiatek said.
Elated or deflated by the confirmation of another Trump presidency, many said they are taking the coming days to sit with the news before rushing into a postmortem.
“Taking all of this in was a lot,” Jessica Toscano, GCSON ’27, said. “There’s just a lot of fears for the future … that are a lot to take in in one day.”
Update (Nov. 8, 2024, 1:17 p.m.): This article was updated from a previous version to remove an interview with a former Heights staff member.
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