Over the last four years, America has been holding its breath in anticipation of the 2024 presidential election. In a time where election results can be doubted, facts are easily confused with misinformation, and even news sources are hard to believe, politics have become a loaded discussion. Depending on your circumstances, your perspective regarding the 2024 Presidential election might look a lot different than your family, friends, coworkers, or peers. One thing all can agree on is that the election between Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris is one that this country will discuss for years to come.
We have all watched this country split in half in terms of ethical and economic values after America flipped red on November 6th, 2024. While many threw parties in celebration others wept in fear of what was to come. But overall, the country was much more silent this year than in 2020, where refusal to accept election results from the Republican party caused events like the insurrection of the Capitol on Jan. 6th, 2021.
Instead, after this election, we were left with a sea of dull faces in New York. Those who voted red carried out their days in regular fashion, perhaps with a bit more pep in their step, while those who voted blue seem defeated. There was no denial of results nor parading through the streets of Washington D.C. anymore. The Democratic party had simply turned to what we might compare to an ‘autopsy,’ where they decided to look through their campaign to understand where they went wrong.
The day after the election, faculty, students, and staff of SUNY Old Westbury seemed as though they were moving through a fog. It was almost clear who voted which way as a few walked through the hallways smiling, wearing MAGA hats on their way to class, while others could barely speak to their friends. The attendance was very slim, as some were so upset that they could not even come to campus. The divide in attitudes and beliefs was starkly visible.
However, no matter how happy, sad, or neutral the members of SUNY Old Westbury were, every single one of the people who chose to speak on this topic decided to stay anonymous due to the delicate nature of this discussion. The extreme political controversy that began in 2016 has heightened to the point that people do not feel safe sharing their opinions publicly.
This is why we hear of popular phrases like ‘the silent majority’ that many Trump supporters used to define their party. They’ll post the words on their cars with bumper stickers or ride around Long Island in trucks with the words on colorful flags. Silence has become normal and speaking makes you an extremist.
“The whole day before I was anxious and I could hardly sleep,” said one of the anonymous students, a transgender male, a sophomore and English major. “I had a little bit of hope but it’s hard to stay hopeful in this country because every time I am let down, and let down, and let down. It was just dread and devastation, and I could feel that in my friends and everyone in school the next day.”
When asked if he voted, he said, “I did vote. Of course I did. It’s my duty as an American citizen to vote. It’s my right to have my voice heard, and I’m going to exercise it… Human rights was the most important thing I was considering, my right to my own adult brain and adult body, to make decisions about myself without any outside input.”
Another student, a female senior at Old Westbury hoping to pursue a career in teaching stated, “I feel distraught and disappointed. This election will affect my Hispanic community, LGBTQ community and my fellow women in so many ways…It feels like all the progress that we have made in society isn’t being seen at all.”
When asked if she voted, she stated, “Unfortunately I did not vote [because I could not] register on time, but even though I didn’t it doesn’t mean that this election has not caused me mental and emotional distress.”
Two faculty members also chose to speak about their experience.
One professor, a male from the History and Philosophy department, stated, “I did vote, for Harris. I think the election illustrates the difficult situation democrats are in since the repudiation of government solutions embodied in the rhetoric and policies of, first, Jimmy Carter, and then, in a more pronounced way, Bill Clinton.”
He continued, saying “Both of these presidents took the Democratic Party in a different direction from the inspirational social democratic programs of Roosevelt’s New Deal and Johnson’s Great Society. They embraced the privatization of what used to be widely accepted public responsibilities like welfare.”
One faculty member, a female working in administration, stated, “I did vote in this election. It is and was important for me to have a candidate that has a track record of supporting the wellbeing of families and communities at risk, who knows what it means to be held accountable and be responsible for supporting the human rights of all the people living in this country and other nations…”
The professor further stated, “[I wanted someone in office] who has a strong moral compass and sound judgement, knows how to pick advisors and leaders that will be able to continue to navigate our country through this current political landscape [and] global economy and [would] steer us through the climate crisis in a manner where we are repairing and healing the environment and creating a sustainable future.”
It has been just over 3 weeks since the election results have been announced and many of us have gone home to our families for Thanksgiving, the discussions becoming uncomfortable and tense in either direction. We are living through historical events and witnessing the divide of a country firsthand. We can only sit here and anticipate these next four years and see where it takes us as it all unfolds.