By Charles Peckman
Although the University of Iowa’s campus was silent Wednesday morning, echoes from Tuesday night’s momentous and feverish presidential election could still be heard from the Pentacrest to EPB.
Regardless of political affiliation, today was a day of celebration for some, and sadness for others.
The silence did not last long — during the early afternoon, a group of Hillary Clinton supporters gathered near the Pentacrest in solidarity as a response to last night’s election results.
One by one, members of the group walked into the middle of the circle of people and shared anecdotes about what the election results mean to them.
The group, who carried signs with such phrases as “United Against Hate” and “We Are Together” remained somber yet hopeful.
Veronica Tessler, an Iowan and a local business owner, said, “We live in a huge, diverse, sometimes insane country. If you talk to anyone, tell them this is the beginning, not the end.”
Tessler also said we have to pray, but we should keep in mind how the lives of African Americans, immigrants, and people of the LGBTQ+ community have been affected by the election of someone who repeatedly speaks out against these groups.
“You have to assure each other, especially those of us who don’t look like us, and we have to protect those around us,” she said.
Tessler said that although Tuesday night was a dark night in American history, seeing everyone out peacefully rallying on Nov. 9 makes it a “great day.”
Connor Jacobmeyer, a UI freshman who was also at the rally, said, “Last night I saw the results come in, and I didn’t even believe it. It hit me — the election went to Trump.”
In the aftermath of Trump’s win, UI Student Government President Rachel Zuckerman, held office hours today for students who wanted to talk about the election or felt fearful for the upcoming months.
In Johnson County, 65 percent of voters chose Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, and 27 percent voted for Donald Trump. Why there weren’t Trump supporters as “out and about” as Clinton supporters is something that UI freshman Karissa Fjeldheim, who voted for Trump, aims to answer.
“Today was a rough day,” she said. “People were giving me low jabs all day. The election is over, why are you attacking me?”
Fjeldheim said she believes Trump supporters are not as vocal today because they are afraid. She said the violent rhetoric coming from Clinton supporters is the exact type of rhetoric they do not like about Trump, and she thinks “that hypocrisy is outrageous.”
Despite Fjeldheim’s reservations about the vocal nature or lack thereof of Trump supporters, she said she is pleased with the results of the election.
“I voted for him, sure, but I thought Clinton was a shoo-in,” she said. “Having the House, Congress, and presidency red will make things so much smoother.”
Fjeldheim also said she believes millennials have a skewed perception of Trump, because they get a lot of their news from social media.
“Overall, I think Trump is a good fit,” she said. “America needs to run like a business for a while, to get us back on track again.”
