America votes, Mercer students react

Around 2:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, Republican candidate Donald Trump was elected to succeed Barack Obama as the 45th President of the United States of America, defeating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and proving almost every prediction of the election results wrong.

The race was tight, and many states were too close to call for most of the night. This election cycle made it apparent that the American people are divided when it comes to politics. Mercer University is no exception.

There was but one common denominator among reactions to this year’s election: shock.

“Honestly, it came as a shock,” said Robert Delbridge, sophomore. “Not only was I shocked that Trump won, but I was also shocked as to how much he won by.”

It seems that no one expected Donald Trump to actually walk away with the presidency. Even those who voted for Trump were surprised by his victory.

“Although I voted for Trump, I was quite surprised with the outcome of the election,” said Drew Daws, a Journalism major. “This election, I think, will cause the media to take a giant step back on how they predict elections and who they support or show bias towards.”

Some have taken this shock with a certain optimism, regardless of who they supported in the election.

“I wasn’t particularly happy with both options, but after the outcome I still think that Trump will be able to hold the office adequately if the right people are watching over him,” said Tyler Kahale, pre-law student. “Basically, if good people are watching over him, we’ll be fine.”

Many others, however, are not optimistic. They believe that the reason the vote was so shocking was because it finally materializes that which they feared was true about the prejudices of America voters.

“I was upset more by the vote itself, and less by Trump,” said senior philosophy major Anna Bates. “That that many people, consciously or subconsciously, are so opposed to women like Hillary Clinton to vote for someone who is as unqualified as Trump...I definitely cried because of that, because people hate women that much.”

Some are angry, some are scared, and others just feel lost. Social media has become a post-election battle full of hate, denial, and fear. Regardless of Trump’s adequacy to lead this country, tensions are high are Mercer’s campus.

“Never had I felt so lost, or unsafe, or hopeless for the future,” said Shruthi Vikraman, in a Facebook post. “I am so glad that Donald ran for president. You heard me right…He is the man that forced the red Republican pill down my throat and enlarged my worldview to see that I have lived in nothing but a matrix of lies. Someone who once felt so strongly about social progression and acceptance and love is now seeing we had none to begin with.”