**Photo provided by The Associated Press**. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris shake hands at presidential debate.

“It's been calm today,” said Tedd Vanadilok, just hours before voting would close on election day. “Should I be worried about that?”

Students milled around the voting booth tucked away in Benson Memorial Center, each with their own guess of how the electoral map would be shaded. Vanadilok, the head of the Center for Student Involvement, led the initiatives for voting on campus. Noting the quiet tension permeating the hustle of the dining hall, he remarked that no matter the presidential outcome, the need for proactive resources to handle election anxiety was the Center for Student Involvement’s focus for the past few months.

“In 2016, it was very reactive,” said Vanadilok. “I think a lot of people thought Hillary Clinton would win. She didn’t. And I don’t think a lot of universities were prepared for that.”

Thanks to the divisive and close race between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris, students were very stressed about the implications of either result. Throughout the night, as more and more votes came in for former Trump’s campaign, some sentiments of disbelief echoed across campus.

“To me, it was pretty disheartening—I had hope that she was going to win,” sophomore Tikdem Hefferban said. “Early on, it showed that he had a really strong lead. Once I saw that Pennsylvania was red, I kind of knew it was over.”

Despite preemptive measures to help the campus adjust to presidential results, from post-election debrief conversations mediated by the University to additional mental health resources from CAPS, some students describe a somber atmosphere that has still infiltrated the campus.

“Overall, I can sense a low energy,” commented sophomore Amalia Thompson. “Everyone’s feeling down, the energy is super off.”

Most students contacted by The Santa Clara refused to comment on their thoughts regarding the election, citing fears of potential exclusion due to their support of a particular candidate.

“Throughout the night, as more and more votes came in for former Trump’s campaign, some sentiments of disbelief echoed across campus.”

"Younger people historically tend to be more liberal, so college campuses are traditionally liberal,” said a conservative student voter who requested to remain anonymous. Trump voters “just don’t want to be an outlier.”

Clearly, the immediate impact of the election didn’t stop at the ballot box. Classes were impacted as well, with some professors going as far as canceling class the day after the election.

“Most of my teachers have mentioned something regarding the election, like if you need to leave class or not show up or you’re under a lot of stress,” said first-year Chris Jemelian.

Eruptions of violent interactions are already popping up throughout the country, from protesters at Texas State University at San Marcos carrying signs naming women as “property” and bearing homophobic language to texts being sent to Black people nationwide telling them that they are selected to “pick cotton” at a nearby “plantation.”

In light of this behavior, students and staff fear for the safety of many minority groups on campus, first-generation students and immigrants lacking permanent legal status.

“A lot of marginalized communities will be impacted,” senior Josue Hernandez emphasized.

Regardless of political affiliation, the University was pleased to see campus involvement with the election. At 5:30 p.m. on election night, right as electoral votes were rolling in, the political science department hosted a watch party in conjunction with Modern Perspectives RLC and The Acropolis, the University’s political science student group.

Dennis Gordon, a professor in the University’s political science department and faculty director of Dunne Residence Hall, was impressed with the turnout at the watch party.

“At the watch party itself, we had a really good turnout. It's one of the largest groups that we've had in Dunne,” Gordon said, estimating that at least 100 students came and went during the course of the election watch party.

According to Gordon, planning for election-related programming on campus began during the summer among several campus departments, including Residence Life, Campus Safety and academic departments. Compared to previous election cycles on campus, “there was so much more preliminary planning, intentional planning,” Gordon said.