On Wednesday morning, our campus and the nation woke up to the news that Donald Trump will reenter office as the 47th president of the United States after soundly surpassing Kamala Harris in both the electoral college and the popular vote. Republicans also gained control of the Senate and are poised to potentially control the House.

In last week’s election survey, the Orient found that 91 percent of students, faculty and staff who responded intended to vote for Kamala Harris. On campus this week, the disappointment of this solid majority is palpable. However, this should be a moment to take stock of where we find ourselves—as individuals and as a campus community—and how we can move forward.

We all come at this news from different places. Many of us are grieving. Many students come from red states where reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental protections, educational access and firearm regulations are continually under attack. Many students come from blue states where losing those protections has never been a concern for them or their families. Our positionalities vary, and with them, our individual susceptibilities to what may come next.

Perhaps you feel blindsided. Perhaps you saw this coming. The results of the election are an overwhelming reminder that Bowdoin’s campus is not reflective of our nation’s political reality. The reality is that most voters chose Donald Trump for one reason or another, whether they support his policies or simply stand against the incumbent party. To many of us, this is baffling. As we move forward, we must put aside our disbelief because this is happening, and we must respond.

We will give you the advice you are likely expecting to hear: read the news, follow local politics, keep volunteering, keep voting. We recognize this advice is trite and frustrating. You may feel like you’ve been heeding it to no avail.

But it is, and has always been, the only way forward.

Our power to make change does not need to lay dormant until 2028. The fight for progress happens on many fronts. We cannot let disillusionment lend itself to inaction. We cannot stop advocating for the causes we hold close and the communities we hold dear. There is a future beyond this moment, and we have to help each other get there.

Many held out hope for a Harris presidency until the final hour. The uncertainty of Trump’s victory weighs heavily on many of us, but we must find it in ourselves, again and again, to refuse to fold.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Editorial Board, which is comprised of Janet Briggs, Catalina Escobedo, Ella Ferrucci, Emma Kilbride, Maile Winterbottom, Kristen Kinzler and Vaughn Vial.