Early Wednesday morning, former President Donald Trump officially won the 2024 election, becoming the 47th President of the United States. Today, USC students and organizations react to the news — or try to find an escape from politics. 

Emma Kidd, a graduate student studying cinematic arts, film and television production, said she fell asleep early Tuesday night confident in a Harris victory. Kidd found out the results of the election the next morning, after receiving a text mentioning how “stressed” people would be because of the results.

“I’m feeling dejected. I feel very disappointed. I’m scared. I’m scared for our country. I’m scared for the future that’s to come in the next four years,” Kidd said. “We just have to move forward and stick together and just persevere during these next four years, and hopefully it’s not too bad.”

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Kidd said that she was particularly set on the vice president because of her progressive stance on reproductive rights. 

“What’s important to me personally is reproductive rights — women’s rights specifically — and how Kamala was a real advocate for our voice, and how Trump really doesn’t care,” Kidd said. “I wanted to vote for someone who was going to advocate for women and for our bodies and our choice.”

USC schools and student organizations have also responded to Trump’s reelection. The School of Cinematic Arts sent out an email encouraging students to “prioritize [their] health and well-being” and stating that SCA’s embedded counselor, Kristin Howard, had expanded Wednesday drop-in hours. 

The USC Political Assembly also held a general meeting Wednesday night titled “What Just Happened? Unpacking the Election.” USC Hillel posted an Instagram story offering Hillel as a place to “process and reflect” on the election, and the Undocumented Trojan Success Assembly held a general meeting where attendees were encouraged to discuss their thoughts and feelings regarding the election. 

The Pan African Student Association stated they would be hosting a game night Thursday for students to “destress and relax,” and the USC College Republicans advertised an “Emergency Assembly Meeting” on Instagram with the caption “Happiness.”

Ben Sheyman, the social chair for Trojan Republicans and a senior majoring in political science, said he was very happy to have Donald Trump elected president and the Senate controlled by Republicans. He said that while he anticipated a Trump win, he didn’t realize that Trump would win by “this much.” 

“I think people saw what they voted for in 2020 and they saw that it didn’t work. They saw that food was more expensive, they saw that gas was more expensive,” Sheyman said. “They saw that they made a mistake and we went back. I think it’s going to be really good. The sun is shining bright in Los Angeles today.”

Sheyman said he realized America “voted with its heart” when he saw Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin turn red. Sheyman said he was looking forward to an America-first economy, for Trump to impose strict sanctions on Iran and for a “return to normalcy” that he felt in 2016.

“People who like their families, who like church, who like synagogue — these are people that are actually the backbone of America and not the people that should be demonized,” Sheyman said. “When you have, for nine years now, people calling Trump a Nazi, calling Republicans Hitler — just on that basis, for me as a Jewish American, that is so disturbing and so disgusting.”

Mya Beathley, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, said that it was “empowering” to vote blue in Louisiana, a traditionally red state, but that people in California often didn’t understand the barriers to voting that people in red states faced.

“I just got into an argument with somebody,” Beathley said. “They were like, ‘Everybody in Louisiana, why would they ever vote for that? There’s a whole bunch of Black people there.’ But a lot of them either are not able to vote or are not politically literate and just don’t have the knowledge. That doesn’t mean that they don’t care. They just don’t see the reason to vote.” 

Beathley said she was disappointed in the election results and was worried about how her family in Louisiana would be impacted. 

“Seeing how everybody else can move on with their lives, and I feel like I’ll be personally impacted. I guess for people in California it’s different,” Beathley said. “They live in a blue state, it’s more liberal, but I know back at home, [Trump’s] policies have definitely impacted everybody there.”