Celebrations erupted throughout the Little Building this morning, after the 2020 presidential race came to a final conclusion, with former Vice President Joe Biden notching a decisive victory over incumbent President Donald Trump.
First-years, some of which voted for the first time in this election, were celebrating after Biden secured a win in Pennsylvania, and 290 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
On floor 11, a student was running around, blasting music and yelling “Wake up, Biden is president.”
“I’m just speechless, I think is the one word to put it in,” Charlotte O’Connor, a first-year journalism student said. “The last couple months have been really chaotic and stressful with, you know, the pandemic on top of the election. And I just think that this is the closest we can get like a nice breath of fresh air, even though it’s not technically like set in yet it still feels like that.”
Most of the first-years The Beacon spoke to said they were relieved, many saying they feel like a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders.
“I’m just glad that after a whole week of like, actually a few months of just incredible stress, I can finally just be like, ah,” Sebastian Olea, a first-year VMA student said. “That in itself is my celebration. It is to feel actual, genuine relief.”
Ray-Anne Hollander said she felt like her voice was finally heard, after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, which left her hopeless.
“I remember in 2016, like, I felt really powerless,” Hollander said. “I knew that members of my family, and parents of the kids in my school, were all voting for Trump… and there were girls in my grade who were Trump supporters… and there were girls in my school whose parents were deported and it was horrible.”
For Luke Colombero, a first-year Theatre and Performance major, casting his vote for Biden made him feel like he was a part of history.
“Oh, God, I feel like I made history,” Colombero said. “Not me specifically. But, you know, my generation. This was a very empowering election, not just for me, but for others who have felt disenfranchised over the years, who have suffered under Trump’s reign. And now that he’s out, I think it’s a new dawn, new era of peace, hopefully.”
Colombero was adamant about the work that still needs to be done, saying that Biden’s victory was just the first step.
“Hopefully, we see a reduction in police brutality towards people of color,” he said. “That’s what I really want the most. Also maintaining the Affordable Care Act for people who have pre-existing conditions and ensuring that members of the LGBTQ plus community have their rights kept, and a million other things, but those really were the top ones.”
Yejin Koo, a first-year Media Arts Production major, said they were relieved, but elected officials need to be held accountable if real change is going to be made.
“I don’t think there is a reason to be happy because Trump’s America is not going to disappear overnight,” Koo said. “This is clearly emphasized with the amount of students, most coming from positions of great privilege, outside celebrating right now in the [Common], while the homeless individuals who are economically disadvantaged due to race, ethnicity, and otherwise are also occupying that space. That’s America.”
“Some people can’t celebrate this victory because there is no reason for them to,” Koo said. “If anything, I think it is more important to celebrate Trump being out of office much more so than Biden being in it.”
