UT students reflect after Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections

A hush descended on the University of Texas on Wednesday, a stark contrast to the clamor of volunteers and political groups who booked the Texas Union voting center just 24 hours earlier. On Tuesday, the Longhorns sometimes waited up to an hour to cast their votes, many for the first time Many with deep hope.

But as I strolled the south side of the Texas Union on Wednesday, the blue political signs that lined the trees a day earlier touted Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s Democratic presidential ticket had been replaced by white signs honoring President-elect Donald Trump and the US Senator. . Ted Cruz.

In a presidential and Senate election seen as tight and competitive, both Trump and Cruz handily captured Texas, with the former president declaring victory before 2 a.m. Wednesday.

For UT students, who are historically liberal and report high levels of voter engagement, the campus came under a “very discouraged attitude,” said Elijah Kahlenberg, a UT senior and founder of the peace group Atidna International.

“Students, I think, are heartbroken and shocked,” he said. “They didn’t expect this.”

‘Impossible to find a perfect solution’

Kahlenberg said he personally felt “defeated, but not shaken” when he went to bed Tuesday night when Trump declared victory. Although he has been critical of Harris’ campaign to focus more on the political center than on the progressive, now that Trump is in power he is deeply concerned about abortion rights in the US and the war that is killing more than 40,000 Palestinians. cost lives in Gaza.

“I am very pessimistic about Trump ascending to office with not only the judiciary under his control, but most likely the legislature as well,” he said. “We can expect a very difficult future again.”

Cline Lee, a junior at UT, said the campus feels quiet. While he expected Trump to win, he did not expect it to happen by what he called a large margin.

“I definitely feel like the campus has a different atmosphere today,” Lee said. “I just hope that over the next four years we can work together, be Americans and help each other.”

Lee said he hopes Trump can serve as a more “intimidating leader” in foreign affairs. He also cares about immigration, which he has seen in his hometown of El Paso.

“On immigration, his policies may be a bit alienating to many segments of the population,” Lee said, pointing to Trump’s rhetoric that is causing a lot of fear among people. “I think this is an area for improvement. We shouldn’t lead with fear and intimidation, but we should try to solve it in a way that helps everyone. But no one is perfect; it’s almost impossible to find a perfect solution .”

The large campus in downtown Austin wasn’t all sad or election-focused on Wednesday, though. Alan Abraham, a 17-year-old college freshman who couldn’t vote this election cycle, said he’s more focused on his classes than politics. But he believes Trump, whom he said he “probably” would have voted for, will boost the economy and tackle illegal immigration.

By the time he graduates and Trump’s term ends, Abraham hopes it will be easier for him to find a job and buy a house.

“Since Donald Trump is already in power, I hope he can help renew the economy and help American citizens function better,” he said. “With so many events that have happened in the last four years, I hope he can breathe new life into the US.”

Abraham added that while he knows some people deeply fear that a Trump presidency will “ruin their lives,” he is confident the newly elected president will be a capable leader.

“I want to reaffirm that you have so much more to your life than who the president is,” Abraham said. “I don’t think Donald Trump will go out of his way to deliberately harm you.”

For some, Harris remains ‘a beacon of hope’

Avery Silvas, a UT sophomore who hoped Harris would win the presidency, went to bed worried but unsure about the results. When she woke up early Wednesday and hesitated to check her phone, she called her mother.

As she sat on the quiet south lawn late Wednesday morning with a ghost-shaped mug filled with iced coffee, Silvas told the American-Statesman she was disappointed. And while Harris fell short, she said the vice president’s impact on Americans was profound.

“It was very inspiring to be able to look up to a woman of color in such a position of power,” says Silvas, who is also a woman of color. “We have clearly seen the challenges Kamala has faced in her bid to become president, but I believe she can still serve as a beacon of hope.”

Natalie Sherman, a sophomore at UT, said she is encouraged to see a female presidential candidate come as close to victory as Harris, especially as she moves into the male-dominated tech field.

“A hundred years ago, it wouldn’t have even been an option for not only a woman, but a woman of color to run for president; and that the election results were so close is astonishing,” she said.

She hopes that students can now overcome the divisive campaign and come together in kindness and mutual love for country.

Larenz Harrington, a UT senior, hoped for change, representation and “empathy” in the nation’s high office, he said. When it didn’t come, he felt sad, shocked and pensive.

“It’s disappointing for my demographic. As a Black man at UT, it can already feel isolating at a PWI (predominantly white institution),” Harrington said, adding that he had hoped that both Trump and Cruz would lose their elections.

“When you see the same men in power in the same positions for months, years, it sends the message that this isn’t changing, and people don’t really want change,” he said. “And it’s scary.”

In the shaded stands at the University of Texas Tower, he said he felt smaller after the election. It showed him that “the hatred and violence” of Trump’s rhetoric was strong and preferable to many Americans, he said.

But as he thinks about it, he has hope for the future: that Americans will consider their own values, fears and vision for the country, and unite in a common humanity and compassion.

“Through pain we can transform things. We can turn things into beauty,” Harrington said. The election “is going to hurt, it’s going to feel like it’s a punch in the stomach … but honestly, as we move forward, everyone has cast their vote, everyone has used their vote, and you have to listen.”