By Elyse Gerke

It is the day after election day on the Colorado State University campus. There is no sign of the sun, a gray blanket of clouds coats the sky as far as one can see. The wind blusters through the skeleton of the once-full-of-life trees.

The campus seems more abandoned than a typical Wednesday afternoon at Colorado State University. In the plaza stands a shorter woman wearing a large jacket that almost consumes her entire body. When approached, she emulates a warm presence but expresses a fearful attitude.

Jo Holley is a graphic design major transfer student from San Gabriel, Calif. Before the presidential election Holley was worried about “women’s rights and how things might look different if Kamala lost the presidential election,” she says while walking through the CSU Oval. “I’m worried about women’s rights and how things might look different after Kamala lost the presidential election,” she says.

The results made her feel “kind of numb and really scared for what the future might hold.” Holley avoided eye contact while saying, “I am upset and angry but not entirely surprised. It’s sad to see so many of the people around me, mostly men, hold values that diminish who I am as a person.”

The 2024 presidential election results were announced at 2:34 a.m. MT in favor of former president Donald J. Trump.

“Waking up felt surreal. It is insane to me that he won the popular vote because what I was seeing online and around my community, I thought a lot of people were in agreement that it would go the other way,” Holley said. “I know that the people closest to me voted the way I did. I like to surround myself with people who support and value women’s issues. I went to bed knowing that it was a very close race, but not truly believing Donald Trump was going to be the next president.”

While tension lingers across America, communities reflect on what this means for their town. Across CSU, there is a jumble of emotions as the community digests the results. Holley expressed a mix of shock and fear of women’s rights and is uncertain of what the future holds.