Shock, confusion and joy were among the emotions that greeted Americans this morning in the aftermath of yesterday’s election results, which named Donald Trump the president-elect over Hillary Clinton.

A gritty campaign trail left the country firmly divided leading up to the election. The polarizing results did little to amend that, and St. Thomas is feeling the rift. Tommies have started looking toward the future with varying degrees of optimism.

“I’m not particularly happy. Not just because of the outcome of politicians, but I feel like everything in my friends and family is divided too,” said senior Hannah Davidson.

Trump won 302 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232. He outperformed expectations in several key battleground states, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Prior to the election, Clinton was the strong favorite in many polls. FiveThirtyEight.com, a leading statistical analysis website, gave Clinton a 71.4% chance of winning early yesterday, compared to 28.6% for Trump.

“Not only am I surprised, but I think all the American people are surprised. They never saw this coming,” said first-year student Aashan Haider.

Junior Nick Peterson said the results were surprising, but not in a bad way.

“It was kind of a big surprise but I’m happier than sad,” he said. “I just feel like with Hillary it would have just been another four years of what’s been happening.”

While Trump’s willingness to ditch the status quo is celebrated among his supporters, others are worried by some of the strong stances he has taken.

“How is this going to play out?” Haider said. “For some people, they want to leave the country. For some people, they feel less valued now. The people he’s pointed out specifically, I feel worried about them.”

Students voiced that they’re unsure how much Trump will be able to change during his presidency. Many do not know what to expect in the coming years.

“I don’t know what I’m going to see, just because everything is just so unexpected right now and I’m kind of in shock about it,” said junior Mollie Laidly. “I’m kind of worried about how decisions will be made.”

Davidson echoed similar sentiments, citing his victory speech as confusing.

“Hearing his acceptance speech last night, it just sounded very scripted. Nothing like his previous speeches,” she said. “So I don’t know how it’s going to be, because he kind of seemed like he turned around and spoke nothing about what he was speaking about before.”

Even if there is a degree of uncertainty to Trump, supporters say he offers a brighter outlook than Clinton would have.

“It’s not like it’s all the sudden just going to be a totally new country,” Peterson said. “Trump has no political background at all, but that’s why checks and balances are in place…Trump at least gives more hope.”

Students said they’re willing to stay hopeful if Trump can fulfill his promise to make America great.

“I will be excited if there can be positive change for our country,” Laidly said. “I don’t know exactly how that’s going to happen or where that is going to happen, but I’m excited for the possibility of that.”

In response to the varied reactions, President Julie Sullivan sent an email to the St. Thomas community encouraging support in this time of uncertainty.

“I encourage you to reach out to one another and share your hopes and fears, and to always do so with a spirit of empathy and respect. Share with one another and pray with one another,” Sullivan wrote. “We are called as a community to live our values and to be engaged in creating a hopeful future for our country.”

Ultimately, Tommies realize they have to move forward. Whether it was their preferred candidate or not, the new president has been chosen by the people.

“I just really hope for the best, honestly. I know there’s a lot of tension right now, throughout not only campus but just overall in America. Overall I hope everything just plays out and works out in the end,” said Haider.

To read TommieMedia’s coverage of the Republican victory party, click here.
To read TommieMedia’s coverage of the Democratic victory party, click here.
For video coverage of both events click here.