The air was filled with contention and dissonance on Wednesday, Nov. 6— the day after the 2024 general election.

Early Wednesday morning, the Associated Press confirmed Donald Trump to have won the White House and by Saturday, all seven swing states had been called for the president-elect. Florida voters re-elected Senator Rick Scott to serve a second term in the U.S. Senate and confirmed Florida amendments 2 and 5. Amendments 1, 3, 4 and 6 failed to pass in Florida. 

UNF students voiced their thoughts and feelings about the election results and what they mean for the future. Views of the election itself ranged from relative indifference to researched analytics. Ideas about what kind of impact the election will have ranged from no change to drastic imbalance.  

“I don’t care for it,” said Ethan Britt, about the results, a UNF student who said he didn’t vote. 

“Politicians are supposed to be representatives of the people, but we treat them like celebrities or idols,” Britt said. “They are there to serve us, but everyone wants to serve them.”  

Britt said he doesn’t think this election will change much and that politicians try to evoke fear in voters. He said America’s two-party system is divisive and doesn’t help anything.

“[It] just plays into the nonsense,” Britt said.

In contrast, June Wilson, a UNF student who voted during the on-campus early-voting event on Oct. 29, said she thinks this election is the most important election of her lifetime.  

“Not only is it the first time I can vote, but there is a lot at stake,” Wilson said.

Wilson said that she feels “deeply disappointed and upset.”

“I fear for my rights as a queer woman and I am truly terrified,” Wilson said. 

On a larger scale, she said she was worried for immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, women with reproductive health issues, and women as a whole.

Another UNF student, Joselien Vasallo, said she was “truly astonished” by the election results. Vasallo said she voted early and was especially surprised by the failure of Florida’s citizen-initiated amendments, Amendment 3 and Amendment 4, which failed to pass by less than 5% each.

Vasallo said the results indicated to her that most of America’s population has become ignorant and selfish. 

“We have lost the true meaning of freedom and have since then abused it,” Vasallo said.  “I have lost faith in the place I once called my home.” 

Vasallo said that the biggest impact of this election will be the country’s political division. 

“With recent events, there is no telling whether citizens belonging to their own respective parties might react unfairly, negative[ly] or even violent towards their opposing parties,” Vasallo said. “Many citizens will be losing their hopes about the future of our country and its stability.” 

Considering this, Vassallo said, “I will be graduating in the Spring next year and hope to leave soon after.”

Striking a balance between indifference and excitement, Lily Byington, a UNF student who voted early, said she was not too nervous about the election.  

“Many policies that they advertise for are not enacted,” Byington said.  “And also, Jesus is king.”

Byington took a more detached perspective on the election. 

“This is less about the candidates for me and more about the general parties’ policies and how they are dealing with things as of now,” Byington said.

She said that if Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris had won, there would be “more government interference with the family unit and less regard for human life.”  

Byington said she is unsure of what will happen once Donald Trump is sworn in because she hasn’t done much research on the candidates.  

John Jones, a UNF student from the Bahamas, has a different perspective. Jones said that if he could have voted, he would have.  Raised conservative, Jones said he feels “pretty good about the election.”  He thinks—and hopes—that America will see “a more peaceful time.”

Some other student comments—kept anonymous upon request and now referred to as A. and B.—also shared their thoughts.

A. attended the first day of early voting and said that the biggest impact of this election will be reforms to the election system.

“Both sides seem to think it’s unthinkable for the other candidate to win.” 

B., who voted by mail, said, “I feel like this election is very stressful.”

“It feels like there is a lot more at stake and everyone is super aggressive,” B. said. They said the tension makes it hard to hold neutral and reasonable conversations with members of either party.  

Regardless of the outcome, the 2024 presidential races and subsequent elections have already had varied effects on UNF students.  Only time will tell how Florida and the rest of the country will move forward. 

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