The day after Election Day, Nov. 6, 2024, the results became clear to the United States public. People woke up either already aware of the news from a late night or woke up to the announcement of Donald Trump being the projected winner of the 2024 Presidential election. A variety of emotions and reactions have been taking over both the internet and the campus.
With the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality department, the Lutheran Campus Center, the Turtle Island Student Organization, and Winona State College Democrats sponsoring the event “Sharing Space: Grief and Solidarity.” This event allowed students a space to meet and have time to reflect, share, and be in solidarity with each other to gain hope the Friday after the election results were announced.
Finding community during this time is especially important. Community allows people to find comfort in each other and gain encouragement to keep moving forward as well as make your voice known politically through engaging on a local level with your representatives.
First-year transfer student, Eric Manns, details how he felt about the election and the concern he feels for the future. While he is concerned about many things, such as funding being lost to mitigating climate change, issues of immigrants losing their homes in the United States and the gutting of veteran programs, he still feels that it is important that people work together as a community.
“Results gave me a feeling of dread especially for my education, the climate, and vulnerable communities,” Manns said. “It’s given me motivation to be more active in our community though, as we cannot expect the federal government to address any of the issues we are facing with anything except with some of the most short sighted ‘solutions.’”
People that are concerned after the election have a plethora of things to be worried about with concerns of funding being pulled away many things along with concerns of bodily autonomy. This can be seen by the previous actions of the newly reelected President Trump, where during his first term he pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement which is an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, bodily autonomy rights are being called into question with concerns over abortion rights was Roe vs. Wade was overturned by the same Supreme Court justices what were nominated by Trump during his last presidential term.
There has also been shock over the outcome of the election where some were convinced that the results would turn out a different way. The shock has caused many emotions and reactions from people, leaving many questioning how this outcome came to be.
Second-year student, Rachel Fredrick, shares how she was initially shocked by the results of the election and how the election results gave way to a cascade of emotions which was brought on by prior conceived notions of what the outcome of the election could have been.
“I was surprised but I realize now that I shouldn’t have been surprised. I think that I surrounded myself with people that had the same opinion as me and thought that people would come to their senses,” Fredrick said. “After the election results, I have been enraged but have also felt numb at the same time.”
Even though reactions from the election can differ, one of the best ways to try to stay connected is to be in support of those that are distressed with the results and to work as a community to take action and help support one another.
