The election may be over, but the Chapman community isn’t done talking about it. How’s it even possible?
With the loss of the lawsuits and now the finalization of the votes, the US must now come to terms with the results. President-Elect Joe Biden has been victorious, racking up 306 of the electoral votes. With nearly 160 million ballots cast, this election made modern history with the greatest turnout.
Biden has already begun appointing his cabinet as well as describes his plans for his first 100 days in office. From signing face mask mandates and trying to get 100 million Americans vaccinated, the President-Elect’s main focus is centered around getting us out of the pandemic.
Yet Donal Trump keeps hoping that a court miracle will bail him out of his overwhelming loss.
After a stressful election that dragged on for several days, some Chapman students are celebrating the outcome, while others are siding with Donald Trump, insisting the election has been rigged against him.
“The day that I woke up and Pennsylvania and Georgia had gone blue, I felt a huge relief,” said Elizabeth Murphy, a sophomore creative producing major. “Watching president-elect Biden’s speech that night made me very confident that he was the right choice to serve as our next president.”
As election results came to an end that first Saturday after the election, many took to social media as well as to the streets of major cities and downtown areas. Pictures of the victorious Biden and Harris holding hands flooded almost all social media platforms.
“I felt such a sense of relief,” said second-year health science student Victor Jacinto, “it’s just been a long time coming.”
But, much like others, Jacinto expressed that the win was more about getting Trump out of office rather than Biden winning. Yusuf Baqai, President of the Chapman Democrats expressed similar views towards the election results.
“I think something that democrats need to keep in mind is that even though Biden won, this is just the first step,” said Baqai.
Even after the announced victory, the fight seems to be far over.
After daily tweets from Donald Trump insisting that he is the true winner in an election rigged against him, other students are siding with him.
Demands are being made on both sides of the aisle as Chapman Republicans have brought to their social media platforms claims of an unfair election.
Chapman Republicans voiced their grievances with the results on their Instagram account.
“In the last 48 hours, we have witnessed an attempt to win this election through dishonest and criminal means,” was posted on 11/6. The post has since gained over 1,500 comments debating this claim.
Baquai is not convinced by the attempts to claim voter fraud.
“To say there is voter fraud without any proof is to undermine our system of democracy in the United States,” Baquai said. “That is totally wrong and it’s clear, based on the fact that he’s losing many of these legal battles, that it is not voter fraud.”
President of the Chapman Republicans and third-year Broadcast Journalism and Documentary major, Justin Buckner, asks that people be patient with the results as he believes that this election is the most impactful one in history.
“The election is not over yet, we still have to wait to see how the lawsuits turn out,” Buckner said. “Once the results are final, I hope Americans go back to respecting the President.” This came before the Dec 11 decision which ultimately solidified Bidens win.
The Supreme Court, however, denied a request from Texan Republicans to reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Michigan. Which delivered a near-fatal blow to Trump’s crusade.
With so much division, it was easy to predict tensions would be running high in the aftermath of the election.
Cities nationwide braced for potential violence on Election Day. Stores from Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan were boarded up in anticipation of unrest. Beverly Hills even called in a SWAT to be at the ready.
Even Chapman made preparations for a post-election conversation. In preparation, the university scheduled a zoom event titled Ask the Experts: U.S. Election Analysis-One Week Later on November 10, hosted by Thomas Piechota.
The purpose of this event was to be able to create a space for “a post-election discussion unpacking the results of the 2020 presidential election. The moderated conversation will place the election in historical perspective, consider the role of media and polling, evaluate what the election reveals about U.S. politics and society, and where we might be headed.”
While some people still have not come to terms with the election results, those who have, are waiting to see how this new administration is going to tackle the pandemic and everything that follows with it.
Baqai shared some concerns for the future of the Democratic party as he fears that the next election will need a much stronger platform. While this election was motivated by booting President Trump out, he feels that future Democratic nominees will need a more substantive campaign to run on.
“We need to make sure he implements what he says and is accountable for what he says,” said Baquai.
An election with the highest voter turnout in over a century was bound to spark fuel from both sides. Now the nation awaits the inauguration of President-Elect Biden as well as how well he and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris follow through with what they have promised.
The political clubs on campus are also looking to the future of the next four years of the presidency.
“I’m going to focus on Biden and make sure we hold him accountable for the actions he is going to do during his presidency. I’m also going to have speakers to talk about certain political topics and their political experience. If it is possible, I also hope to collaborate with other clubs at Chapman,” said Baquai.
The upcoming presidency has voiced its promise of uniting a much too long-divided country, but that is something that only time will tell as we approach January 20, 2021.
