Following the 2024 election, students and communities on campus are looking for ways to process the results and move forward. As many students mourn the loss of their preferred candidates and measures, campus groups are offering spaces for collective healing while planning their next steps.
MultiCultural Center holding PLAN B: An ethnic & feminist studies, post-election processing space. Amitha Bhatt / Daily Nexus
Several sources said that classes were canceled in light of the election’s results. Additionally, many organizations took time during their meetings to debrief the election, according to multiple student sources.
Former Republican President Donald J. Trump won the 2024 presidential election against Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris, with 50.2% of the votes.
California passed propositions including Proposition 3, which codifies same-sex marriage in the state constitution, and Proposition 4, which authorizes $10 billion of bonds for water wildfire prevention and land protection efforts.
The state failed to pass Proposition 5, which would have lowered the two-thirds majority of votes needed to approve bonds for affordable housing and public infrastructure projects to 55% and Proposition 6, which would ban slavery in any form in the state constitution and repeal a provision that allows involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime. Additionally, Proposition 32 did not pass, which would have raised the state minimum wage to $18 per hour.
The Nexus spoke with students as well as political and advocacy groups on campus regarding their post election efforts and reactions.
Prior to the election, UCSB Campus Democrats led a number of initiatives to increase voter turnout and lobby for the Democratic Party. From campaigning door-to-door to tabling for 12 hours on Election Day, third-year political science major and Campus Democrats President Micah Littlepage felt a sense of pride in all of their work.
“I’m so proud of all of our work, we registered over 1,000 voters as well as convinced a lot of other students to vote as well. And we also managed to knock on every single door in Isla Vista, at least, I believe, once or twice,” Littlepage said.
UCSB Campus Democrats endorsed candidates alongside the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party. Littlepage expressed concern over people placing blame on each other in light of Democratic losses but maintained loyalty toward his party.
“I’m disappointed with the national results, and I think there’s going to be a lot of soul searching. I’m not looking forward to the blame game that inevitably follows a loss like this, but I think it’s important that, as Democrats, we remember that we need to always be turning out our base and that we have to be advocating for the people who support us and who turn out to vote for us,” Littlepage said.
Littlepage said that UCSB Campus Democrats is discussing actions to respond to the election, potentially including campus rallies, community building efforts and taking time to support one another.
“I think for now, we’re just taking some time to rest. But the fight was always going to continue, but it really is just beginning now, especially under the next presidency,” Littlepage said.
UCSB College Republicans and Turning Point USA at UCSB did not respond to requests for comment from the Nexus.
Ashley Aguirre, a second-year history and sociology double major and Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) graphics and advertisements manager, canvassed door to door for Democratic candidates running for local elections, including the incumbent major. Post-election, she is concerned about student access to reproductive resources, including abortions and contraceptives.
“What we were having talks about is prioritizing taking care of ourselves, and this thing called ‘radical self care.’ Or even us prioritizing ourselves as a form of resistance to these efforts to restrict our rights and our reproductive freedoms,” Aguirre said.
Despite being a bipartisan organization, UCSB’s chapter of California Public Interest Research Group’s (CALPIRG) views align with Democratic Party leaders, CALPIRG Oceans Coordinator and second-year psychological & brain sciences and political science double major Hudson Truchard said. Their plan now is to focus efforts more on a statewide level by collaborating with officials such as California Congresspeople Monique Limón and Gregg Hart.
“[CALPIRG] is starting to shift a lot of the ways that we’re going to be running campaigns, working less on a national level, working more on that statewide level, where we still have our elected officials that will help us push through with a lot of the work that we do that will be blocked at more of a federal level,” Truchard said.
Jeanne Broome, a fourth-year political science and economics double major and Gauchos Vote Coalition student intern, noted that the group spent months registering voters in I.V. and helping them formulate voting plans. Despite also doing same-day registrations on Election Day, Broome was disappointed by voter turnout levels.
“I think regardless of your political affiliation a goal, or a shared common goal, should be for people to vote and to participate in democracy. So I was definitely disheartened by the lower turnout numbers nationally and statewide,” Broome said.
In light of election frustrations, Broome maintains that students must continue “fighting” for their rights. She expressed that voting is necessary to voice one’s opinion in this political system.
“I know it’s disappointing for all of us to work so hard to get out the vote when things don’t go our way or when people don’t vote as much as we would like them to, but that’s just the nature of the political system, and you just got to keep fighting and keep encouraging people to voice their opinions through their vote, even when it’s tiring and doesn’t always work out,” Broome said.
Many students, including Littlepage, expressed fear for the nation as a whole, noting their privilege as California residents. Despite this, Littlepage said many UCSB student resources are potentially at risk due to Republican Party goals.
“We are privileged to be in our little bubble in California, but eating services that I rely on [are] at risk, like EBT and financial aid, and Donald Trump has threatened to literally cut [Federal] Work-Study funding. So, you know, as students, I think we’re at risk,” Littlepage said.
Living in a blue state, Aguirre said it was “disheartening” to see the election results as someone who is a part of PPGA’s efforts to make reproductive care accessible on campus.
“As an organization that supports reproductive justice and advocates for having reproductive resources on campus easily accessible for everyone, it was so disheartening and almost shocking to see the election results as they were unfolding,” Aguirre said. “And I feel like being on a campus, a mainly liberal, leftist-leaning campus, kind of surrounded by other like-minded people, it was almost like a bubble had burst.”
Truchard expressed a similar sentiment regarding living in a “bubble” that is more left-leaning within California.
“I feel like we are kind of in a bubble in California where, you know, we see most people around us are really centered around environmental actions and whatnot. But when we see that that might not be the case on a country-wide level, I really do hope that it inspires students to wanting to work towards these really important legislative actions,” Truchard said.
Several campus organizations released statements on Nov. 6 regarding the results of the elections.
The UCSB Black Student Union released a statement via an Instagram story to “acknowledge and uplift everyone feeling the weight of post-elections.”
“Honor your emotions, take the time you need to process, reflect, and really lean on community. As we process this election and move forward together, we encourage you all to stay hopeful, continue to build strong community relationships, and fight for our voices to be heard. We are here for you,” the statement read.
Professor and Department of Communication Chair Tamara Afifi released a statement on Nov 6. via email regarding the department’s “commitment” to an inclusive climate.
“We recognize that a lot of our communities are especially vulnerable right now. Our department is committed to a climate in which all students, staff, and faculty are valued and given the opportunity to thrive,” the email read.
The Associated Students Trans & Queer Commission invited community members to a Post-Election Safe Space on Nov. 11. The commission plans on hosting more events that act as “safe spaces” for the community and informs students about campus resources, according to a statement to the Nexus.
“The commission was deeply upset and disappointed with the outcome. The incoming administration has already caused major damage in the LGBTQ+ community during their first term and we are fearful of what this coming term entails,” the statement read. “We see this as a time where the community both nationwide and locally on the UCSB campus needs to come together and support one another.”
Third-year communication major CJ Toledo said that as a student, the results have given him “more fire” to organize around local issues.
“My politics lie more on the leftist side. So either way, whoever won would still be supporting a genocide that’s happening in Palestine, and so I was prepared for a bad result regardless,” he said. “[I plan on doing] a lot of community organizing specifically [to] keep the local people safe, and regardless of whoever’s in power at the national level, we can still be good here.”
Fourth-year psychological & brain sciences major Sydney Bivins said that while she was “terrified” by the results, she plans on organizing around disability justice and promoting campus resources such as the Disabled Students Program.
“My initial reaction was despair, [on] Tuesday night. I completely avoided my phone,” she said. “It’s sort of something that we all kind of had to be prepared for. So a lot of [my] thinking now is kind of how we can organize moving forward.”
Third-year Chicana/o studies major Axel Valencia Alvarez said that being the child of undocumented immigrants motivated him to speak out about immigration reform and how the election would affect it.
“Since my parents are undocumented, I know for me, it was very important to speak up for myself, and not just for myself … but for my parents and my community in general, who don’t have a voice in this election,” he said. “I feel like it’s up to young leaders and young activists to organize and make sure that our grievances and our actions are being brought up to the table and make sure that we’re fighting for a better tomorrow.”
According to Aguirre, PPGA plans on continuing their advocacy for reproductive rights and encourages other student organizations to do so as well.
“There’s definitely a place for sadness, disappointment and anger. But I think what’s important for organizations like Planned Parenthood and other student organizations that care about reproductive justice, is that this is not a time to throw up our hands and give up on the fight. I think this is only a time where we need to work even harder and advocate even more for equitable reproductive resources,” Aguirre said.
Littlepage believes that voting extends beyond choosing a candidate on a ballot. He said he is hopeful about community engagement following the election.
“[Voting is] much deeper than just selecting a candidate. It is about picking what type of community you want to have in the future and to see people be so engaged and turn out in levels I’ve never seen before, it really meant a lot. And I guess it gives me hope [about] all of this that we’re facing,” Littlepage said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Nov. 14, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
