A month after Election Day, emotions over the results are still running high, especially on campus. The immediate aftermath left some students overjoyed, while others expressed anxiety and concern. 

In interviews with students from diverse backgrounds at the University of New Hampshire, emotions remained strong as they reflected on what the results mean for both their futures and the country’s direction. As the campus continues to process the election’s outcome, many are questioning how it will shape the years ahead.

Artemis Strangecrow, a political science major minoring in economics shared his thoughts on the election now that it’s over. “I have a lot of feelings. I am not surprised,” he said.

Strangecrow discussed his concerns about the candidates’ campaigns, expressing disappointment with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tactics, which he felt catered to a more progressive viewpoint.

“I’m kind of worried Democrats are going to move to the right a little bit after this,” he said. Strangecrow acknowledged that because Democrats focused on a specific demographic and still lost, they may be less likely to prioritize that group in future elections.

Strangecrow, a firm democrat, has expressed concerns with the public’s perception of elections and voting. “I voted for Harris, I didn’t really have an issue with it. I think people sometimes misunderstand what elections and voting are. Obviously it’s not going to change everything, it’s not going to radically shift the democratic party but that’s what primaries are for,” he said. 

Juliana Corsa, a senior majoring in communication sciences and disorders expressed sadness with the results of the election, and had hoped that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris would win. 

It was hard for her to hear the results, “It was the morning after for me, I had just woken up and my mom sent me a text about it and was pretty sad,” Corsa said. 

The day after the election, Corsa noticed a clear shift in the emotions of students, “It seemed like a lot of people didn’t go to classes, and my roommates were sad they didn’t want to go to classes,” she said.

In her case, Corsa saw a majority of the people around her disappointed. “A lot of people around me, especially in this campus, were kind of devastated about the results of the election,” she said. 

Anya Raetsch, a sophomore majoring in applied math, admitted she was not happy with the results.“Overall it was just like really stressful day, I was zoned out in a lot of my classes, called my mom once or twice to get through all the feelings, but overall very stressed, very nervous, very worried,” she said. Raetsch’s biggest concerns with the results are with the future of education, healthcare, and abortion rights.

Raetsch stated she was not surprised by the election results but had hoped for a different outcome. “I think, realistically, going to bed, I was like ‘I think Trump was going to win.’ Personally I hoped it’d go the other way around,” she said. “It is what it is, I have to move on now day by day, I have to figure out how to get through.”

Samuel Skilling, a junior majoring in environmental conservation, expressed his concern about the election’s impact on the environment, particularly with climate change. He expressed concern over Trump’s appointments of certain Government officials that could deter environmental goals. 

Skilling, who voted in the election, shared his feelings about the election results. “I wasn’t too surprised but definitely not what I wanted, but now that he is, it is what it is,” he said. He didn’t expect the result but it wasn’t shocking either.

Skilling noticed that there was a shift on campus after the election to a more dull atmosphere, “I felt it was a lot quieter than normal.” During his classes, he witnessed his professors only briefly addressing the election results and making an unbiased statement to acknowledge the feelings that students might have. Skilling believed this was a good idea. 

Overall, depending on political beliefs, the election has produced strong feelings with its results and has impacted the lives of college students greatly since then.