The polls have closed, the votes have been counted, and the next U.S. president has been chosen—SHU students now must come to terms with the results of the 2024 presidential election. But the question remains: is this the outcome students wanted?
On Nov. 5, the nation was swept with the arrival of Election Day. As the proverbial lines were drawn for Americans who would choose between the colors red or blue, they looked to see who would hold office moving forward through the next four years.
The night ended in a unanimous victory for former President Donald Trump. According to the Associated Press, Trump won as the 47th president of the United States with 312 electoral college votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 226 votes.
At around 1 a.m., after anxiously trying to juggle homework and following the election, Sarah Prosetti decided it was best to go to bed. This was before she woke up to a spam of texts from her friends and the announcement of a new president, she said.
Proestti, an environmental studies major, followed the election closely before and after a simple voting experience. For SHU students, this was the first time many voted in a presidential election.
“I would have voted no matter what because I feel like it’s a privilege to be able to vote,” Proestti said. “So I feel like I want to, you know, exercise that.”
Trump held the lead throughout vote counting in a victory that secured him all seven pivotal swing states. Additionally, the Republican Party also secured both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Trump made history by becoming the first former president to be a convicted felon and now by being the first convicted felon elected into office come Inauguration Day. He also made history in that he became the first president elected to non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland, who served as the 22nd president after the 1884 election, and as the 24th president after the campaign of 1892.
These results caused quite a stir on campus, with many students reacting differently to the outcome.
Sophomore biology majors Brianna Gallo and Grace Liu, who both voted for Harris, said that they found her loss to be “shocking.”
Trump’s victory also marked a point of fear and concern for other students in the community as well.
Disha Patel, a senior diplomacy major, said that as an immigrant and a person of color, she fears for some of Trump’s policies moving forward.
“I don’t think he’s the worst president we’ve ever had, but looking at his policies...it’s scary to see the next four years,” Patel said. “I’m a diplo major so all we talk about are his policies going in, like the tariffs.”
Sophomore Emma George, a political science major, described how campus seemed “quieter” the day after the election.
George also expressed her apprehension regarding Trump’s term in office.
“It’s just very scary to know that, especially with who he is appointing to the cabinet positions now and how radical they are, like what can come in the next four years?” George said.
The topic of Trump’s recent cabinet picks was also a point of contention for other students, such as Adreanna Dones, a junior diplomacy and international relations major.
“I truly think that the people Trump has put into his cabinet and both on like the Supreme Court and the legislative offices…are a lot of people with extreme biases that don’t necessarily represent the entirety of the nation and its citizens,” Dones said.
Kush Desai, a senior nursing major, also weighed in on Trump’s cabinet.
“I know [Trump] appointed Matt Gaetz as attorney general,” Desai said. “I am a little bit concerned about that since he’s being investigated for sex trafficking.” (As of Nov. 23, Matt Gaetz withdrew his appeal to become attorney general.)
Although shock was a common emotion felt by some students, it was not shared by all, with Desai saying that the Harris campaign loss was to be expected.
“I’m not surprised because I don’t think Kamala Harris’s campaign was very strong,” Desai said.
Desai said he felt that Harris’s campaign reflected the thought of, “I’m not Republican. I’m not Trump. So you should vote for me.” Desai added that he could “see why people voted for Trump.”
Other than the campaign itself, students brought up each candidate’s policies. With many political issues up for debate, policies such as abortion and gay rights were top concerns for SHU student organizations like PRIDE.
Isabella Fitzpatrick, a senior biology major and co-president of PRIDE, explained how their organization urged people to vote, but also strayed away from political discussion during meetings. Still, there was an overall mutual understanding and a support system in place.
Fitzpatrick mentioned how after the election, she and her fellow PRIDE members took time to process the results before being able to actively support others.
“I know some of our members in our group chat did send a message and say, ‘We’re in this together, like we're gonna continue to fight,’ kind of that thing of like, ‘We’ll take the day, but tomorrow we turn back and we, like, kind of fight for our rights,”’ Fitzpatrick said.
Post-election, PRIDE posted resources on social media that people could use if they needed somebody to speak to. The Trevor Project is a resource that the organization shared that has a page dedicated to helping people cope with and discuss the election.
“The big thing is, you’re not alone,” Fitzpatrick said. “Especially in Seton Hall’s community, which has been great recently. From my freshman year to now, I've seen our community grow, like exponentially in the amount of people that are queer on our campus, which is amazing.”
Whatever negative sentiments students had, other students were pleased with Trump’s victory.
Freshman business major Hector Cruz, despite not getting to vote, said that he was satisfied with the results.
“I just looked at everything, you know, and I liked just the immigration plans and certain stuff,” Cruz said.
Similar to Cruz, senior communication major Eileen O’Leary said she was happy with the results, even though she is not a Republican.
“I’m a registered Independent, but I think with this past election, there were a lot of things policy-wise that I agreed with on the conservative side,” O’Leary said.
Regardless of personal political affiliation, dealing with high political stakes can come with a lot of emotions that can foster tension or hostility.
Kai Hansen, a senior chemistry, philosophy, and business administration major and the president of the Student Government Association, reflected on the large sense of community at SHU, even during a time of political divide.
“I’m very impressed by it,” Hansen said. “I think there are people that are very happy about the way the election went down. There are people that are really upset about the way the election turned out, right? But as of yet, it doesn’t seem like it’s torn us apart, and I really hope that it doesn’t.”
Hansen emphasized that SHU students share a lot of common ground. From similar opinions on the dining hall, classes, or professors, he said it is important to focus on what brings SHU together and to spread positivity.
“Be kind to each other,” Hansen said. “Listen to each other. I’ve been really impressed, like my whole four years here in that…people really do live in community with each other, even when they have different political beliefs…and I hope to see that continue.”
Sofia Kasbo is the copy editor for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at sofia.kasbo@student.shu.edu.
Jonathan Rivera is the assistant editor for The Setonian’s Photography section. He can be reached at jonathan.rivera1@student.shu.edu.
