At 5:30 AM on November 6th, Former President Donald J. Trump secured the presidency by clinching Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes. Trump managed to win back the “blue wall” states that he narrowly lost to Biden in the 2020 presidential election. His win was a shock to some, a sad but expected result to others, or a step in the right direction for certain people. Allderdice students and faculty had much to say about the president-elect.

History teacher Ms. Price said the outcome was “very hard to take.” She was shocked by how soon the outcome was decided. “I expected that we would have until Wednesday, maybe Thursday, to find the results out, the way [the media] kept setting us up for it. And to realize that by 11:20 last night, it was basically over, that was hard.”

“Indifferent” was the word Spanish teacher Mr. Matson used to describe his reaction when he woke up to the results. He revealed his opinions, stating: “I think the economy will be better under a President Trump compared to a President Harris. The lived experience of four years under President Trump’s economic plan and four years under a plan that Kamala Harris could’ve disagreed with but chose not to [was very different].”

However, while many teachers were split on the issue, most students seemed shocked, worried, and distressed. “I really did not think we would let him win.” Tenth grader Alberto Gildengers explained.

Senior Camilla Zarour added, “It’s a disappointment to our country, knowing that a fascist is the president of the United States.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because Americans are really dumb,” joked another senior, Raffa Rothstein. “I’m really upset with Biden, though. He should’ve stepped aside so there could have been a primary, and we could’ve, no offense to Harris, not had her as [the democrats’] nominee.”

When asked what policies people were focused on the most, students gave an extensive range of answers. The economy, the environment, police brutality, and marginalized communities were all topics they brought up.

Senior Chauncy Walker said he thinks Trump will prove effective on the war in Ukraine. “I think Trump’s gonna be able to stop that war in Ukraine, just because Putin only started it once Trump was out of office,” he explained. “Putin wanted to take the land for a while, but when Trump was in office, he never did.”

Education was another issue brought up by multiple students. “There’s been talk of abolishing the Department of Education,” said Alberto Gildengers. “As we all go to a public school, our funding [should be] a top priority, and I feel like it definitely won’t be under the Trump Administration.”

Additionally, every single female interviewee claimed reproductive rights as one of their top issues and worries for the upcoming Trump administration. The Harris campaign had made protecting women’s right to have an abortion a key component of their program, preaching that Trump’s administration would institute a complete and total ban on abortion throughout the country. On the other hand, Trump had said on the campaign trail that he would adamantly oppose a federal abortion ban, but there is heavy skepticism on his words. Camilla Zarour says: “I don’t believe anything that Trump says; I need to see it to believe it.”

Juniors Lilja Heller-Matza and Frankie Hudson staunchly expressed their discontent with the results. “I’m worried most for my rights as a woman,” they both exclaimed. 

Calculus teacher Mrs. Britton echoed their statements. “I’m really worried about women’s reproductive rights. Not for me, I’m an old lady now, but for my students’ generation. Until you’ve lived and seen the types of things that happen to people, it’s so easy to say, ‘oh yeah, I’d never get an abortion.’ But then you see people go through things [and your perspective changes.] It also really bothers me that it depends on which state I live in, whether or not I have freedom as a woman. This is not an issue like whether or not I can smoke weed here, we’re talking about potentially a woman’s life. I don’t know why that would ever be left up to the states.”

Throughout the school, opinions varied on whether Trump’s win would affect students' daily lives. Junior Soren Stout doesn’t think so, saying: “Definitely not, no. I don’t think the president really has almost any effect on that at all.”

“At the end of the day, the sun still rose,” said senior Simon Grove. “It won’t really directly affect us day-to-day, and I think some people need to take a step back and understand that we’re gonna get through this.”

Raffa Rothstein, however, carries a different sentiment. “It’s definitely possible,” he explained. “The tariffs [Trump has proposed] will definitely affect people negatively.”

Ms. Price revealed a more nuanced answer, explaining that residents of Pittsburgh specifically may be a bit more worried than they should be: “Well, executive orders will have a faster effect. Getting things into law is going to be much slower, getting any court case against something is going to be slower; that’s just the way our system works. Also, realizing Pennsylvania still has a democratic Governor in Josh Shapiro, which will help in several ways. Local elections, such as Allegheny County, are also still heavily democratic.”

Trump, however divisive he is, will be our nation’s president for the next four years. Even though Allderdice students and faculty have varied reactions, their willingness to discuss this issue displays their involvement in our country's political climate. Students seem concerned with who makes decisions about our country, and that engagement shows a more hopeful future for us all.