As F&M students, faculty, and staff are acutely aware, the campus climate surrounding the 2024 election results, to say the least, is charged. The day after the election felt heavy for many, relieving for some, and polarizing for all.
Some professors discussed at length the implications of this change in administration and how it will affect our country moving forward. I personally draw no judgment towards this approach. As Diplomats, we must learn to openly discuss how the political climate will affect us, and our future generations.
Other professors curtly refused to discuss the election on that Wednesday. They offered office hours for students to discuss or vent if they wished while maintaining the stance that class material and learning must go on. I also have no judgment toward this approach – we still have degrees to earn, after all. Other faculty, wellness organizations, and student-led groups also offered support to anyone seeking it during this time.
One student said that walking around campus on that Wednesday, November 6, evoked a sense of betrayal. “Knowing that the election was not even that close, I felt that some of my peers had voted against my rights, and I felt hurt and voiceless because of it.” To me it seems that marginalized communities, including women and people of color, may have felt this way, too. Perhaps they have felt this way their entire lives, and it was only exacerbated by the results of the election.
Another student expressed his feelings towards the election as not so shocking at all. “For me, it wasn’t surprising that Trump won… Biden dropped out of the race too late, which didn’t give Kamala’s campaign enough time to organize a campaign that would reach all Americans. The Democrats simply did not have enough time and did not focus on the right policy issues to secure the majority of Americans’ votes.”
Another student expressed that because Trump’s campaign focused on calming the fears of the average, middle-class American, it ultimately secured his win in the end. “Trump kept calling out [the] Biden [administration]’s failures during his presidency, which Kamala [Harris] was clearly a part of as his Vice President, which made it an easy choice for most middle-class Americans: stick with an administration that has done not so great of a job, or choose someone who will calm your fears.”
These opinions are all valid and raise good points. Nonetheless, what’s done is done. And in the wake of this election, a divided, betrayed, polarized community remains with little hope for reconciliation. Or is there?
I attended Common Hour last Thursday, November 7, following the election. The guest speaker, Baratunde Thurston, hosts a PBS television series titled America Outdoors. He is also the host of a podcast called How to Citizen, which reimagines “citizen” as a verb in which we can all be more civically engaged as a collective. As I’m sitting in a packed Bonchek-Adams auditorium with my peers and other faculty members, listening to Baratunde talk about what it actually means to “citizen” while enjoying a hot slice of pizza, I can’t help but feel at least a little empowered, despite the heaviness of this election. I’m sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow students and staff around me, and while it’s been one hell of a week, I’m assured by the fact that we all went through one hell of a week together.
At one point in his talk, Baratunde instructed us all to close our eyes, center ourselves in our environment, and then take a deep breath together. As we all collectively inhaled, feeling the space around us, and then exhaled, I had an immediate whoa moment. A whole group of people taking a breath together, breathing out our anxieties, was a super grounding moment for me. It made me realize that, yes, this is an extremely unstable time right now, but at least I have all these other people around me who also need to take a deep breath, collectively.
Drew Stelljes, F&M Vice President for Student Affairs, expressed immense pride in his email last week towards the F&M community for being just that – a united community despite the staggering political division occurring throughout the country right now. And while a singular email might seem superficial on its surface, Drew Stelljes raises a crucial point.
We are living amidst extreme political division and uncertainty, with drastically differing opinions and beliefs. While the future might seem bleak and we might feel powerless, there is still incredible value in community: in taking care of the people around us, in engaging in critical discussions with our peers, in being civically engaged – as Baratunde would advise – in collectively taking a deep breath.
Contrary to just about everyone’s current belief, we are not powerless. The power of our community, which ranges from the F&M community to our sports teams to our student-led organizations to our relationships with each other, we have a platform for change and progress. A professor told me that everyone thinks that their only real power in this country is voting for the next president, when in fact we can enact more change than ever in our local governments, in our communities, and with our personal relationships. So while the results of this election may seem like a huge, immovable weight on our shoulders, we do have the power to chip away at that weight. And that begins by engaging with the people around us and remaining steadfast in our community.
Junior Coco Shultz is a Contributing Writer. Her email is cshultz@fandm.edu