‘Sadly Disheartened’: Democratic-Supporting UT Students Express Fear, Anger After Election
By Meredith McKelvey, Sarah Gonzales and Madeline de Figueiredo
Reporting Texas
The Austin chapter of Students for a Democratic Society protests in front of Littlefield Fountain in the wake of the 2024 presidential election. Sarah Gonzales/Reporting Texas
The day after Republican candidates swept the 2024 U.S. and Texas elections, many University of Texas students expressed excitement, anger, disappointment and fear for the state’s and country’s future.
“We are definitely feeling a lot of disappointment,” said Brian Peña, president of the University Democrats. “We worked very hard for the whole year and are reeling from the national and statewide results.”
Other students who supported state and national Democrats echoed this disappointment.
“I am sadly disheartened. I am disappointed. I don’t know why I thought we would have a sense of security in this election,” said Rebecca McRee, a junior at UT. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m scared but just upset.”
Parv, a UT student who did not want to be identified by her last name, expressed dismay about low turnout of young voters.
“I am really disappointed in my own people,” she said. “I am disappointed in the community.”
Other students, meanwhile, celebrated Donald Trump’s victory and return to the White House.
Joseph Barnwell, a UT freshman who voted for the first time, said he cast his ballot for Trump. Identifying himself as a Christian voter, he said the Republican Party’s stances on abortion, the war in Ukraine and the economy motivated him to vote for Trump.
“Honestly, I’m not too upset either way,” Barnwell said. “I was expecting Trump to win.”
College Republicans at Texas and Young Conservatives of Texas, two leading Republican student organizations on campus, could not be reached for comment.
The precinct covering the heart of UT’s campus had 3,423 voters cast their ballots in the presidential race, with 83% voting for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and 14.9% voting for Trump. Of the 3,337 voters who cast their ballots in the U.S. Senate race, 87% voted for Democratic Rep. Colin Allred and 11.4% for incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Some students expressed fear for what a second Trump presidency could mean for their communities.
“I have a lot of trans and queer friends, and I am really scared for their lives, safety and access to care,” said a liberal arts sophomore who declined to be identified. “I am also concerned about the racial and colonial ideologies that Trump is going to enable in a lot of people.”
McRee, who studies writing and rhetoric, believes Trump’s rhetoric may have won over the majority vote.
“I think the way Trump frames his rhetoric is extremely effective for certain demographics, which turned out to be the majority demographics (of voters),” McRee said.
Peña, the University Democrats president, said he sees hope despite his party’s losses Tuesday.
“We are also feeling a lot of optimism,” he said, noting that many of the University Democrats’ locally endorsed candidates prevailed, including Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, Council Member Chito Vela and Krista Laine, who defeated City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly.
“This is not the last election; we have many more to come,” Peña said, saying University Democrats was already working across campus to register students to vote the day after the election.
“We are laser-focused on the state Legislature,” Peña said. “We’re thinking about vouchers, DEI and all the horrible things that the Texas Legislature could do and how we want to counter that.”
As UT students reacted to Tuesday night’s election returns, student protesters from the Austin chapter of Students for a Democratic Society gathered Wednesday to call for a ceasefire in the Middle East and a focus on human rights, addressing their chants to the GOP. The protesters said they were renewing their commitment to resistance and bracing for increased scrutiny from police and threats to their safety.
“We will continue to be an inconvenience and are committed to broadening our message because so many of these issues are intertwined,” said an anonymous Austin SDS protester and UT student. “We will definitely be more wary of police presence.”
They said their fears not only stem from the GOP’s policies, but also from Democrats’ reaction to the election results.
“We are already seeing online a large portion of hardline Democrats starting to blame Muslim and Arab voters or working-class Latino voters or people who didn’t choose to vote,” said Lucas Reyes, an Austin SDS protester and UT student. “It’s a way for the Democratic Party to shift the blame away from themselves and have a scapegoat.”
Regardless of their political views, many students shared their hope for a future that includes mutual respect and compassion on campus and beyond.
“I don’t think people should panic,” said Gabe, a UT undergrad watching the student protest. “I don’t think fascism is descending upon us. … I hope people don’t start to panic and hate each other, and I hope people are still able to have intelligent, political discussions with each other.”
