Gabby DeMarchi
News Editor
After months of debates, commercials and campaigns, it is finally over.
On Tuesday night, President Barack Obama was reelected as the 44th President of the United States. The heavily anticipated race concluded when it was confirmed that Obama had won the 18 electoral votes from Ohio, pushing him over the edge to win the presidency over Governor Mitt Romney.
While the election was causing a lot of hustle and bustle around the country, here at Springfield College, the entire election was kept pretty quiet. The general consensus on campus was that many people followed the election but felt fairly apathetic about the overall process and with the results.
“I normally don’t get involved in politics, but my family gets involved, and I had a bunch of friends involved, so I kept up on the general things. But I really didn’t pay too much attention,” explained junior Matthew Milner.
“I’m not really into politics. I followed what was on the news a little bit,” said senior Brittany Baglow.
“I voted and everything, but I’m not really into politics. I was informed on what I was voting for,” freshman Kristin Feliu stated.
While a good amount of students at SC did not actively involve themselves in the election process, others followed the progression for months and thought the entire election was exciting to watch.
“Overall, the election was a lot more energetic than most years,” senior Liz Hurley said. “I have been able to vote in the last two elections, and this one was more exciting, I thought. I think that there was a lot of small spats towards the end between the candidates, but in my opinion, this proves that both candidates were really fighting for what they thought was best for the country.”
“I’ve spent the past two months watching CNN and FOX News and following it all,” senior Andrew Betor said.
Hurley and Betor didn’t state what their political beliefs or affiliations were, but they both agreed that Obama won fair and square, but has a lot of work ahead of him.
“It’s going to be tough,” Betor said. “The House of Representatives is run by the Republicans, and the Senate is controlled by the Democrats, so we’ll see. It’s going to be hard to do stuff, but they have to get stuff done. They’ll have to work together. Based on the popular vote, this country is still very divided based on political beliefs, and we have to overcome that.”
“If Obama is in office for another four years, he has a chance to make the economy turn around. His plan is already in action, so it would be difficult to stop one process and start another,” explained Hurley. “The only problem is Obama’s plan has not allowed for a quick turnaround. It has taken time, and I do believe that we are running out of time. Finally, Obama seems to be putting most of the control back into the Americans’ hands, which I believe is a good thing.”
While Hurley and Betor went out of their way to actively follow the election process, other SC students wished the school did more to inform them as to what was going on in the election.
“[I didn’t vote] mostly because I didn’t have time, but also because I wasn’t informed enough. I didn’t feel comfortable casting a vote,” Baglow said. “I don’t think [SC] should force politics, but it would have been cool if they informed us more.”
“I know that we had voter registration for students when they moved in,” stated Hurley. “I heard from teachers and older students that during the last election, the campus had a larger campaign. For example, they handed out shirts and had a lot of events. I think that the school could have done more to promote the students and faculty to vote.”
Regardless of party affiliation, the next four years will be about moving forward. The campus agrees that Obama has set the tone with the previous four years; now it is time to bring this politically divided country together and create lasting change.