By Nic Longstreet
In the wake of the 2024 presidential election, students at Grand Rapids Community College are coming to their own conclusions and terms with the results. This election was one where some saw it as a consequential election, one where the future of the country, and the democracy in which we live, was at stake. On the other hand, some didn’t vote because they believed that their vote didn’t matter.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the race, would’ve been the first woman to be president. She lost to former president, and now president-elect, Donald Trump, who has been convicted of more than 30 felonies.
At GRCC, The Collegiate asked students about their thoughts and feelings about the election and on president-elect Trump.
Sadie Adams, 18, a freshman at GRCC, said that she is looking forward to a second Trump presidency.
“I’m so excited, everything is going to be so much better for me…,” she said.
Adams believes the potential lowering of gas prices as a positive outcome of Trump’s win.
Conversely, Silvanna Mendez, 18, a psychology major from Grand Rapids, had a very different point of view. She said, “I’m scared for what this future would look like for women.”
She said a lot would be different when comparing the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration.
“It’s disgusting how people would vote for a convicted felon again,” Mendez said.
President-elect Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies, all stemming from jurisdiction falling from New York’s court system. This has been both a rallying sentiment from those feeling that Trump was targeted. Others feel that the felonies were a major turnoff.
But it wasn’t so clear cut for some. Elita Lopez, a 19-year-old communications major from Grandville, had a general uneasiness about the whole situation.
“Most women’s rights have been taken advantage of, though I feel like it can become a greater issue for women,” Lopez said.
In a text to The Collegiate, Collin Helak, president of the Democrats at GRCC, reflected on why he believes Harris lost.
“I think it was the lack of properly transformative policies, and any deviation from the Biden administration,” he stated. “She didn’t offer up anything substantial.”
Harris was often criticized for a lack of any policy that was clearly her own, and seen as a second President Joe Biden rather than her own entity.
Helak’s disappointment was shared by Evodie Djunga, president of GRCC’s Black-Africana Student Union, who stated in a text to The Collegiate, “It’s disheartening to see that many still underestimate a woman’s capability to lead a country.”
Cionna Massey, 19, a business major from Grand Rapids, said despite the election results, she will be finding solace and reassurance in her faith.
“I’m not saying I don’t care about the election, but they’re just presidents. The bigger picture is God,” Massey said
With election day behind us, Caden Kooiker, an 18-year-old student from Hudsonville, said “I’m glad it’s over.”
Collegiate reporters Bianca Bower, Brendan Duneghy, Avery Lokers, Emily Perez, Rebecca Lopez, Shavontae Major and Rosalia Jimenez contributed to this article.
