Biola students reacted with mixed emotion after several media outlets announced that Democratic President Barack Obama won the popular vote in Ohio on Tuesday night, combining with other state victories to result in his re-election as president of the United States over Republican candidate Gov. Mitt Romney.
“[I’m] pretty disappointed, pretty shocked about how the American people responded to a disastrous four years that we’ve just had,” senior political science major MK Tengler said. “I just expected a different turnout … just overall, pretty bummed.”
Immediately following the announcement of Obama’s winning Ohio, biblical studies major Willie Green relayed the news to Biola Library patrons over the intercom system.
Early results a surprise
“[He] just said, ‘Obama is now president … and you need to stand by our president,’” said junior elementary education major Ashley Bush, who was reading in the Library during the announcement. “It was positive but neutral.”
The Biola College Republicans held an election viewing party in the business building for anyone who wanted to follow the results via live feed. Despite the fact that the majority of attendees were Republican, there were also several Democrats and independent voters present.
Senior history major David Shelton was surprised that the verdict was determined before all of the states’ votes came in.
“It feels good; I didn’t expect it to be this soon, but it feels good to see the president have another term,” he said. “I think the next four years will be the president’s real legacy.”
Shaking it up the next four years
Allen Yeh, a professor in the intercultural studies department, expressed his astonishment that the election results were determined early, saying that he predicted it would turn out like the tight race between President George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, which came down to the very last state.
“This election was so close to call … so I was a bit surprised that so early on they have already announced the winner,” Yeh said. “And it’s Fox News, so if Fox is announcing Obama, it’s probably the real deal.”
Senior Alyssa Trammell, a political science and intercultural studies major, was a staunch Republican until about three years ago. She began shifting toward the left after working with the poor on Skid Row and coming to believe the American Dream wasn’t attainable for everyone.
“I’m happy with how [the results] came out; I’m hopeful for what the next four years will look like,” Trammell said. “I’m curious for how it’s going to shake up foreign policy … I know a lot of people in the global community were definitely leaning toward Obama, so I’m optimistic with that.”
"We're all Americans."
While some were taken aback by Obama’s victory, others saw the writing on the wall long before election day.
“[I’m] not surprised; I’ve been disappointed for the last few weeks over the [voting trends],” said senior political science major John Reid. “I guess it was my hope that people would do more research … economically and on foreign policy.”
Despite his disappointment in the outcome of the election, Reid stressed that he was not bitter about the future of the U.S., and says he still believes the country can be united.
“Whether you’re for or against him, we’re all Americans,” he said.
