With the 2020 Presidential Election coming to a close, determining Joe Biden as President-Elect, some Bruins are celebrating his victory, some are angry over President Donald Trump’s loss, and some feel rather indifferent about the situation.
According to the Associated Press, after enduring three days of uncertainty, President-Elect Biden won Pennsylvania placing him at 270 Electoral College votes — simultaneously winning him the election. Sen. Kamala Harris has made history by becoming both the first woman and the first African American Vice President. During his acceptance speech, Biden attempted to send an olive branch to President Trump.
“We are not enemies,” he said. “We are Americans.”
However, President Trump has yet to officially concede the presidency to his opponent and is pursuing legal action due to potential ballot fraud and alleging irregularities in several states, the Associated Press said.
Although she said she is neutral on the election’s outcome, Junior Corina Shaw has been following the election and shared some insights.
“I really believe it isn’t over and, due to some research that I have been doing today, there will be a lawsuit across the country in disagreement with the election voting outcome,” said Shaw. “I am not really political but even as a teenager it is difficult to be dragged into the chaos that develops with elections. I am just thankful that I still have a little bit of freedom to still move around and do my favorite things.”
Junior Grayson Scheda felt an amount of unease about his future under President Trump, and was therefore pleased with the outcome of the election.
“I’m worried as a trans man that my rights could be taken away under the Health Care Act, and also I never really liked Trump,” said Scheda. “… Biden is for clean energy which should create 10 million jobs. He also wants to pass the Equality Act that should secure my rights. Also Biden wants to raise the national minimum wage to $15 steadily over the next 4 years so people will be able to make a living wage.”
Senior Jenna Watson is relieved with the election outcome, but is not necessarily excited with who got elected.
“Now that Trump’s term has ended and Biden’s is beginning, I feel unsure about everything,” she said. “I feel like it’s not the end but only the beginning. I hope this leads to more rights and a better, safer country. Nobody wanted Biden but everyone settled so he’s going to be held accountable for everything he does. But overall now that Trump is gone, I feel relieved, less worried about the next four years.”
Junior Sam Marsico felt indifferent to the election, primarily because he is unable to vote.
“I do not have the right to vote, and I really don’t see the point in arguing with people and causing trouble when I don’t even have a say in the matter in the first place,” said Marsico.
Senior Jacob Ayestaran is uncertain with the election results, having doubts as to whether or not they are correct.
“I thought it was rigged,” said Ayestaran.
Freshman Emma Wolf took a more inclusive take on her political opinion, but is still uneasy about what’s going on.
“Biden winning is definitely a tricky topic,” said Wolf. “I think all-in-all, it’ll be better for minorities, and I’m excited to see what he can bring to the table. He recognizes that there is a problem with racial injustice and oppression in this country, and plans to act on that so every American citizen feels safe. As for his past, he’s definitely done controversial things that need to be brought up, and he’s not the greatest, but overall I think there’s room for change and we’ll see that with him in office.”
Following the general pattern of uneasiness about the election, Junior Dayanara Moreno Jurado is relieved with the results.
“For the most part I was pretty nervous about the election and on edge mostly because the relationship between people of opposing parties has begun to get a little tense,” said Moreno Jurado. “… [But] I am very happy that Biden won the election because he was a better president for minorities.”
Librarian Jessica Dax expressed the relief she felt at the end of this chaotic election season.
“I am looking forward to the country coming together again and the divisiveness to hopefully settle down,” she said. “I have hope that changes will be good and hopefully 2021 will be better than 2020 was.”
Due to a lack of information on many political topics, Freshman Ayla Black did not feel qualified to take a strong stance on the election.
“I feel like there’s so many different aspects to politics that I don’t know about, so I feel like I shouldn’t have a say in it,” said Black.
Sophomore William Marchi, despite not being satisfied with the results, has positive prospects for his and the country’s future.
“I wanted Trump to win because I just don’t support Biden’s views on defunding law enforcement and putting more restrictions on the 2A,” he said. “But it is what it is. I’m disappointed that Trump lost, [but] there might be a recount because of ballot fraud so maybe Trump will win. [W]ho knows? But if not, I’ll just live my life like always and not worry too much about it because there is only so much a president can do. And… [four] years from now hopefully we will get a new president that’s conservative, but for now it’s not that big of a deal.”
Senior Tyler Dzioba mostly believed in the legitimacy of Biden’s election, but still had some suspicions.
“I don’t think the election is rigged,” said Dzioba. “I just think that Biden won no matter what just because of the change of colors in the states. It wasn’t rigged but I definitely think there were rigged votes. There were no non-partisan counters.”
Senior Brody Russell was skeptical of the election results, and thought there would be conflict ahead to uncover the truth.
“Well, as of right now, with all the fraud, my opinion is the Democratic Party is trying anything to win including heavy voter fraud,” he said. “Trump has many lawsuits in place to sue states and get recounts so hopefully the truth comes and Trump wins.”
Senior Mason Graves is also highly suspicious of Biden’s victory, believing fewer people supported Biden than what was apparent in the popular vote.
“[He] definitely cheated,” said Graves. “I mean I think there’s no way that many people voted for Biden; there’s no way that is how it turned out.”
Caleb Hassfeld, a sophomore, believed there was manipulation in the process, distrustful of the honesty of the votes counted.
“I think it was very unfair, because I know that there were some large spikes in many swing states [for Biden] and no spikes for other candidates, not even for Donald Trump,” he said. “I just think … it was unfair. I know that he, Donald Trump, made court cases that got thrown out. And yeah, I just think it’s one-sided.”
Ag. Science Teacher Holly Hockett envisions a bright future where no matter the sentiments about the election, unity prevails.
“I’m just hopeful that we can collectively work together as a community and work towards a common goal, whatever that looks like for you now that the election is over,” she said.
~The entire staff of the BRCurrent contributed to this report.
