A day before the election, my grandmother texted me: “Praying she can and she does.”
The morning after the election, on my walk to class, I noticed a broken pencil on the sidewalk, the heavy leaves of fall quickly departing from the trees and the hanging heads of my fellow university students.
It was not the position of prayers but that of sorrows in which we found ourselves that morning.
Watching the country turn red in support of Donald Trump, whose dominance has been largely assisted by the media, I drew in my first disheartened breath for my journalistic future.
However, I recently remembered a discussion the Daily Emerald’s opinion desk had with Erin Aubry Kaplan during my first year with the Emerald.
She said something along the lines of: “Opinion is the heartbeat of the newspaper.”
It seems after the election, my journalistic heartbeat had palpitations, and the only pacemaker I had was the harsh beat of scrolling through Instagram stories with messages of sorrow and fear attached to them.
But our editorial section writes strongly about the sentiments of so many in our community. May they find others in need of steadiness and validation.
Without further ado, our talented opinion writer’s heartbeats following the 2024 election results:
“I am deeply afraid for our democracy, but I also believe in the power of community resilience to heal and protect when we need it most. Hatred and ignorance are infuriating, but the best method of resistance is through showing compassion. Don’t stoop to their level.” — Gracie Cox, Associate Opinion Editor
“I am relieved to have taken my oath of naturalization shortly before election night, and not under president-elect Trump, who had mentioned that people like my family and me were ‘poisoning the blood of our nation.’ My heart breaks for what the second Trump administration will mean for DACA recipients, DREAMers, undocumented and documented immigrants; the people who have always loved America, even when America didn’t love them.” — Aishiki Nag, Opinion Columnist
“As a woman of color, I am obviously distraught at the choice so many people in this country have made, but, in a way, I’m more scared of the message this gives to men: that they can harass and assault women and then go onto be president multiple times.” — Milly Gamlen, Opinion Columnist
“Harris’ policies weren’t perfect, but her candidacy was a breath of fresh air to America’s unconscionable, decrepit political landscape. Trump’s victory is a huge step backward. We must fight for human rights and equality. We must hold our government to a higher standard. We must preserve the principles of democracy.” — Abby Kohler, Opinion Columnist
“I think over 71 million people chose to overlook how the next four years are going to look for immigrants, low-income families, the LGBTQ+ community and women just to name a few of who will suffer under Trump’s policies. But our fight will prevail to get the America we always dreamed of.” — D Ortega, Opinion Columnist
