The first woman ever to be nominated to run for the presidency of the United States stood before the nation delivering her concession speech.
“And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me, I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion,” Hillary Clinton said.
Just an hour prior, three female IU students shared their election night stories and their lingering feelings.
On Foster Quad’s third floor, freshman Haley Wilson sat with her roommate, processing the continuous stream of election results.
“We were living and dying by these results,” Wilson said.
Wilson went to bed. But, she was awoken by loud cheering at 2:30 a.m., and she said she wondered if Clinton had pulled out a miracle.
It wasn’t until the morning that Wilson found out the truth, that the yelling she heard was for Donald Trump’s victory.
“I’m feeling pretty dejected, a little physically ill and overwhelmingly said,” Wilson said.
Wilson said that throughout the night, she was calling family and friends from other campuses to be in touch with loved ones during the tense night.
It was her dad, in particular, a social studies teacher, that she relied on to calm her during the long process of obtaining the results.
“I was hopeful, but that’s denial,” Wilson said. “That’s the first stage of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, I’m not at acceptance yet.”
Wilson said she sees the effect the election and results have had on the campus, too.
“Everyone’s been like zombies, like there was a national tragedy,” she said. “We’re all fighting the same battle. Everyone’s tired.”
Freshman Molly Murphy also noticed a certain mood on campus Wednesday.
“Everybody’s pissed off,” Murphy said.
Murphy said while she is not politically active and did not support either candidate, she did watch the results come in on CNN.
Her impression of a future Trump presidency was one of less concern.
“Time will tell what he ends up doing,” Murphy said. “People are freaking out prematurely.”
Rachel Cambron, a sophomore majoring in English, woke up this morning feeling stressed — really stressed.
“I didn’t think this was going to happen,” Cambron said. “I am really in shock at the number of people who voted for Trump.”
Tuesday night, Cambron said she sat in her apartment constantly refreshing CNN, dancing when Hillary Clinton got ahead and freaking out when Trump did.
Cambron had a Spanish oral exam Wednesday morning. Before the election, she said she was worried about studying for it. But as Tuesday night progressed, Cambron said she no longer cared about the test.
“This really isn’t my biggest issue,” Cambron said. “I’m a lesbian and Jewish. A majority, half the country, doesn’t agree with who I am.”
One of Cambron’s concerns, too, is that Congress is dominated by one party: the Republicans.
“It’s basically a one party system at this point,” Cambron said. “People don’t think its a problem and that really disgusts me.”
Despite her shock and frustration with the election’s results, Cambron said she is still optimistic.
“I just want her (Clinton) to tell me everything is going to be okay,” Cambron said. “I need a hug from Joe Biden.”
Clinton echoed ideas of hope for future generations of women in her speech.
“And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams,” Clinton said.
