By Channing Prins
The 2020 presidential election left the country at a stand-still for more than five days, waiting for every vote to be counted between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. In the end, Biden secured the nomination for the 46th president of the United States.
Although Trump has yet to concede the race, and while many are calling for Trump to do so, Political Science Professor Harvey Schantz said the president is well within his rights to hold off.
“Every person needs time to get used to the outcome. I think with some challenges left, and I think with some time, I think President Trump will concede, but I think he’s within his rights to take a couple of days,” Schantz said. “But I’m sure once all the evidence and all the legal avenues are exhausted then he would concede the race. So it’s understandable given the President’s personality and given the closeness of the race.”
Schantz also said that despite younger voters between the ages of 18-30 represented a smaller percentage of the electorate this year versus 2016, younger voters made the difference for Biden in key swing states.
“Younger voters determined the outcome of the election in two ways. One, nationally, younger voters, those under 30, were more likely to vote for Joe Biden. And secondly, in the crucial battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, younger voters overwhelmingly voted Democratic and against Trump,” Shantz said. “And because the vote was so close, voters under 30 decided the election.”
SUNY Plattsburgh students have mixed reactions to the election’s results.
“I’m personally happy about the outcome,” computer science major Ezekyl Cabell said. “When Trump was in office, my family was losing money, even more during quarantine, and Biden’s plan on taxes will be helping my family. I’m just happy my family won’t literally be living from paycheck to paycheck.”
Social work major Olivia Rizzo was also happy with the outcome.
“I think it’s going to be a really good change for our country, and I’m looking forward to seeing the positive that comes out of it.”
Not only was history major Savannah Guziczek happy about Biden and Harris winning, she also said it was probably the best outcome.
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done, and the country’s problems have not been solved,” Guziczek said. “Now we are several steps closer to solving them with Trump out of office. Kamala being the vice president is unprecedented and monumental. I have a lot of hope for the future.”
For Indian international student and junior majoring in psychology and minoring in French, Priyal Tare said she’s more excited about Harris, who has South Indian heritage, becoming the next vice president than Biden becoming the next president.
“It’s extremely exciting to see, first of all, a person of color and then someone from the South Asian region as well and a female [become vice president.] That’s a big thing,” Tare said. “I can’t believe that the U.S.A. being a developed country and a first-world country that there wasn’t a single female president or vice president before, so I think that’s a great, great thing.”
Some students at SUNY Plattsburgh had a neutral opinion about the election results.
“It’s very confusing,” mathematics major Grace Colwell said. “There’s so many opinions about it, but our president is our president, and we have to respect that.”
Not only are there students who are neutral in the outcome, but there are some who disagree altogether. Laureli Magnan, an undecided major, supports Trump.
“I’m not happy being a Trump supporter,” Magnan said. “But most students my age are Biden supporters. I believe the outcome isn’t going to be great for our country, but of course he’s our and my president now, so I have to be supportive and hope for the best.”
Other students are hopeful for what Biden’s campaign has promised for the U.S.
“I feel really good about it because I know that Biden will take care of things that Trump didn’t take care of, things like climate change and women’s health,” English writing arts major Caroline Hoffman said.
Editor’s Note: This article had additional reporting done by Fernando Alba.
