Students, faculty respond to Trump victory

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By Carina Smith and Morgan Lamb

The Campus Ledger staff

[Editor’s note: The final electoral college vote numbers: Hillary Clinton – 232, Donald Trump – 306]

Ballots were tallied into the early morning Wednesday and Donald Trump was declared to be the next president of the United States. Students and faculty at the college have reacted to results with mixed emotions.

Trump won the race with 279 electoral votes, while his opponent Hillary Clinton had only 228 electoral votes according to the Associated Press. The race had been neck-and-neck for months, with both candidates polling in the mid-40s throughout the campaign season.

Sam Stueve, a member of the College Republicans, described the election season with a colorful analogy.

“I’ve had to summarize each debate into five words that I thought summarized each debate and each time it involves something to the effect of two toddlers throwing mashed potatoes at one another,” Stueve said.

This news has excited people nationwide who have supported the Republican Party, including College Republican President, Daniel Stilley. Though Stilley never fully backed Trump, he has always been a strong Republican supporter and said he is excited by the outcome.

“I’m not going to claim that I was enthused for Trump, but a lot of Republicans have been and the voices of millions of Americans saying we are tired of elites, tired of the rule of law not being upheld have been heard tonight,” Stilley said. “It is also absolutely exhilarating to see the GOP retain its strong majority in the House and its majority in the Senate.”

Stilley conveyed his euphoria as it became increasingly clear Tuesday night that Trump would win.

“My overall feeling was one of excitement and exhilaration,” Stilley said. “When I first heard about 7 o’clock that several Republicans won key races in the House and Senate, electricity ran through my veins and it never left.”

Clinton, along with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, lost the race to the dismay of many supporters. Student Vincent Duncan, who didn’t vote for Trump, expressed his opinions on the outcome of the election.

“I don’t like the events that have transpired so far during 2016 and having Trump elected only makes me more worried toward social reform in America,” Duncan said. “It would seem that from my standpoint there won’t be much from here on out.”

Trump has to wait to officially earn the title of President. He will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017. However, the election results are a huge win for the Republican Party, who secured not only the White House but the Senate and House also.

Chair for the Department of History and Political Science, James Leiker, said he is surprised by the outcome of the election.

“I think what’s going on here is that this is part of a pattern of people choosing presidents based on charisma,” Leiker said. “It worked in Obama’s favor in the last two elections and I think it dates back to Reagan and Kennedy where we pay more attention to the superficial parts of a candidate rather than their policy recommendations.”

Students Gaylin Nicholson and Nick Holmes were first time voters and supporters of Hillary Clinton.

Nicholson said he is disappointed with the outcome of the election, and that his biggest issue with Trump is immigration and the closing of borders.

“I respect America as an open country and the closing of borders is really my biggest issue with Trump,” Nicholson said.

Holmes, meanwhile, said he is nervous of what the new president’s foreign policies will be.

“I woke up and thought was that a nightmare I had and then it wasn’t,” Holmes said.

Editor’s note: At the state level, college employee and former Board of Trustees member Molly Baumgardner won re-election as state senator for the 37th District. Baumgardner, a Republican, earned 66 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Kevin King. Baumgardner serves as the faculty adviser for ECAV Radio and JCAV-TV.

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