Hundreds of students and faculty members packed four stories of Annenberg Hall, vying for a view of the multistory digital media wall at the 2024 Presidential Election Watch Party. The event was hosted by the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the Center for the Political Future on Tuesday night.

The screens projected major news channels’ coverage of the election, while below a panel of rotating experts analyzed the action and discussed the implications of the results.

Despite starting at 7 p.m., students arrived more than an hour early to watch the first states get called.

When California was called for the Democratic Party’s nominee Kamala Harris, cheers erupted. When Idaho was called for Donald Trump, the Republican nominee who has since become president-elect, the crowd booed.

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Charlotte Dekle, a spring admit for 2025, said she was “a little scared” about the potential of a second Trump presidency after multiple close states seemed to be leaning toward the Republican nominee.

“I’ve listened to Trump’s speeches, I’ve listened to the speeches by his close friends at the various events, and that vision of America is terrifying to not just me but millions of Americans,” Dekle said. “It would be terrifying and frightening for that vision of America, one of hate and division, to be the one that carries in this election.”

Elizabeth Farrington, a senior majoring in political science, said she was “anxious” about the results but acknowledged that the race would likely not be called Tuesday.

“I think all the swing states are going to be called by a really select amount of voters, and we’re probably not going to know the results for a while,” Farrington said. “[If Trump wins], I’m worried about the impacts on abortion … [and] on free speech in particular.”

Juan Pablo Moreland, a senior majoring in philosophy, said the momentum was with the Republican party and that he could see the election getting called that night.

Despite hesitations caused by the Jan. 6 insurrection, Moreland voted for Trump in Pennsylvania, one of seven swing states in the election.

“In a swing state like [Pennsylvania], you want your vote to count and view by view, I’m a Republican most certainly, but there are definitely character concerns with Trump,” Moreland said. “After Biden dropped out, I thought Harris was just a bit too radical … I thought the last four years were really good examples of bad governance, and I think the rest of the state is starting to vote the same way.”

Moreland said he feels like there are topics he can’t talk about on campus due to his beliefs and that “elite students” at USC are out of touch with “normal” people. He said people outside of campus are focused on topics like the economy and immigration.

“I don’t really want to gloat tonight, but you can’t really talk down to people for four years and expect something good,” Moreland said.

Sam Spitz, a senior majoring in journalism, said Tuesday was the most important day of the lives of attendees due to implications on the country’s future but said the country needs to accept either result.

“There are very different ways that [the election] could go, but ultimately, in my opinion, we’re one country, we need to learn to work together,” Spitz said. “We’re going to have to accept the results either way because this is a country that does run free and fair elections.”

When asked whether he was concerned over challenges to overturn the election, Spitz said he believes in the vote counting system and does not think the results will be tainted.

Dmitri Seals brought his children Orozco and Bailey to witness the election.

“It’s important that they understand the political process and that they participate in historic moments that mean a lot,” Seals said. “I think they enjoy learning and seeing other people engage.”

Duncan Law, the president of USC’s Political Union and a fifth-year student majoring in political science as well as pursuing a progressive master’s degree in public policy, said he was happy to see a lot of people voting.

“People are very energized and excited to get out to vote,” Law said. “Whatever happens, I think our democracy is stronger than some of us would like to admit.”

Gordon Stables, the director of the School of Journalism, said student turnout was “amazing” and was excited to see the USC community gather together to experience the event.

Despite calling the election before 11 p.m. being unlikely, Stables said it was important to institute a scheduled end to reflect the fact that the election will likely not conclude in one day.

“Everyone needs to wake up tomorrow and think about what they can do to both advance the things that are important, but also to be there for each other,” Stables said. “Tonight’s not necessarily the night that we know all the information, but we still need to get up tomorrow and work together.”

Editors’ note: This article was updated Nov. 6 at 2:45 a.m. to reflect that Donald Trump was elected to be the 47th president of the United States.