After months of anticipation and intense debate, the election season finally came to a close on November 5th, when Americans across the nation went to their polling stations to vote on who would be President of the United States for the next 4 years. The next day, on November 6th, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump was declared by the Associated Press as the victor for this year’s Presidential Election, beating his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris by 86 electoral votes. A large host of pressing issues were present in the minds of voters, including the economy, immigration, foreign policy, abortion, etc. Some UDJ Seniors who were eligible, as well as many faculty, took the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.
One of these faculty members was Mr. Joseph Carr, who traveled approximately 3 hours up north to cast his ballot. Regarding the atmosphere surrounding the polls, Mr. Carr commented, “people were excited to get to the polls and perform their civic duties, and I think it’s always fun when you can feel like you are a part of the government, and you feel like you can actually make change, or vote to make change.” Mr. Carr, being an Economics teacher here at The High, said that the economy was his main issue, saying “we have it kind of stabilized as of right now. And so, I don’t really want to change anything too drastically” regarding the country’s economic state under Democratic leadership. Approximately 50% of the student body, according to a sample poll conducted by the Cub News Instagram, expressed support for Harris, with the other 50% expressing support for Trump.
From the other side, in particular for many conservative religious students, Abortion was the main issue on their mind for this year’s election. One student with a passionate stake in this issue is Nathan Khoury, a current senior at the High, who said, “I believe an unborn baby is still a full human life and therefore deserves the same protection that we would give any other human life.” Abortion remains a divisive issue for many Americans, as they weigh the often-conflicting rights of unborn life and bodily autonomy.
However, students and faculty from both sides of the aisle have also expressed doubt and dislike towards the candidates they are reluctantly supporting this year. Mr. Carr lamented: “I feel like we have the same kind of race that we’ve had the past three elections now. And I think it’s time for some new faces, some new ideas, because at least for me, I’m just getting tired of having a moderate Democrat and Donald Trump running against each other.” Likewise, Nathan Khoury also expressed his personal dislike and unwillingness for Donald Trump despite his own conservative views, saying: “You saw the stock market rise. You saw jobs go up, but ultimately, his personality is so horrendous that I can’t vote for him.”
Nonetheless, through all these different divides, Mr. Carr expressed that he is optimistic for the nation’s future, saying: “Even if the election didn’t turn out the way that I had expected, I think that we as a country are very resilient, and I think we’ll find a way to make things work.” Likewise, Khoury also expressed hope in America’s future: “there’s a particular proverb that I like where it says: ‘the foolish man wonders how days before were better than these.’ Really, there is nothing new under the sun. It’s probably all going to be all right.”