Isa Cruz

Students woke up on Wednesday morning to texts, news headlines and social media posts declaring Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. After months of lead-up to the election, campus was filled with discourse and mixed feelings.

Bowdoin Reproductive Justice Coalition Officer (BRJC) June Hartman ’26 said that she was disappointed about the election results, especially after seeing the topics that voters listed as the most important factors in their voting decisions.

“From a reproductive justice lens, it was upsetting to see that a lot of people were so focused on the economy as a voting issue when I think we all see abortion as an essential economic issue,” Hartman said. “To have or not have kids and to pay to take care of your kids are all economic issues at their core.”

The BRJC hosted its weekly meeting on Wednesday night in the living room of Ladd House and opened their doors to anyone who wanted to be in community and process their thoughts. The club had its biggest turnout of the year.

“It was a powerful moment that showed that when things don’t go our way, we just have to get up and move more aggressively and work harder. A lot of people do not know where to start or where to go from here,” Hartman said. “I really think that it helped us brainstorm last night. But even more than that, it helped us find community. It is a lot of hard work, and we get very emotionally invested. It’s good to take a breather.”

Hartman described the mood on campus as subdued, especially since many students felt strange continuing with their daily routines in the immediate aftermath of the election.

“Some professors have been understanding, which has been very nice. Others have just gone about their classes and exams like nothing happened, which has been hard for a lot of us,” Hartman said.

Looking to the future, the BRJC wants to get involved with the Maine State Legislature and redirect their attention to making local change.

“The reality is that Bowdoin’s campus is very privileged, and we do have access to a lot of reproductive resources right now, but the majority of Americans do not,” she said. “But we can do so much on a local level…. The great thing about Maine is it is so small, and it does feel like a small town, and that means that our voices are louder, which is good.”

Similarly, Sunrise Bowdoin—an advocacy group focused on climate policy—also plans on taking action within the Maine community over the next few years. The leaders felt fearful for climate policy progress during the next four years but ultimately are still hoping for change in local policy.

“We’re hoping that we can push forward there and do something impactful, but we’re definitely doubling down on state-level actions and trying to push for people to at least consider policy issues that don’t seem to really be on their radar,” Sunrise co-leader Eden Zumbrum ’26 said.

Isa Cruz ’27 woke up Wednesday morning and felt like they needed to be in community. They texted their friends and peers to meet and collectively scream on the Bowdoin College Museum of Art steps at 11:35 a.m. They took inspiration from Selima Terras ’26, who led a group scream every day last semester until meaningful action was taken on the genocide in Gaza.

“The way [Terras] conceptualized it was through music and a collective expression of rage in a sonic disruption of our comfort. I need to have people around me,… but I also need some sort of catharsis and some way to alchemize all that rage and grief and confusion and surrealness,” Cruz said.

Following the collective scream for a minute, the group hugged each other and embraced being in community.

“[Screaming] for a prolonged period of time is an act that is such a model for revolution because you cannot scream for an entire minute without breathing. The moment you’re breathing, someone else starts screaming again. It’s a continuous expression that is made possible by resting, stopping and others picking up where you can’t,” Cruz said.

While some students sought spaces on campus to process their disappointment over the election results, other students celebrated. Bowdoin College Conservatives leader Zak Asplin ’27 said he was tired the morning of the election after staying up all night to see the results but was pleased to see the scale of support for Trump across the nation.

“I was happy to see what I think was a very clear mandate, and the scale of the election will put to bed some of the contention which has been going on. I’m really hoping that the 47th president will govern with a new sense of unity, and I’m hoping that the country will be united for success,” Asplin said.

Asplin was also happy to see the diverse demographics voting for Trump.

“I was excited to see the youth, the Arab American, the African American, the Latino votes. For the first time in a long time, Republicans have managed to build a really diverse coalition, and I think that’s what we need,” Asplin said. “I’m happy to say that this is no longer the party of old, white, rich guys. It’s really a working class movement, and that’s what I love about it.”

With regards to the mood on campus, Asplin recognized that not everybody shared his joyous sentiment.

“I think, on the whole, campus seems quite depressed, and that’s understandable. I think we were lied to, and that is the case with Bowdoin in general … that we were lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that we are in such a liberal environment,” Asplin said.

For the months following the election, Asplin ultimately hoped for more discourse between parties and individuals.

“If anything comes out of this election, [Bowdoin] should be a place for more discourse, more friendliness. Certainly we can disagree about being disagreeable, but I think it is a time that conservatives can say we are represented,” Asplin said. “We are not these sort of strange creatures in the middle of Texas. We are everywhere, and we should be comfortable to be on campus, speaking politically—as long as we’re saying sensible, smart and engaging discourse.”

Bowdoin Democrats co-leader Natalie Emmerson ’27 did not wake up with joy but rather immediately thought about how she could be there for the people around her. Her second thought was about what comes after the election.

“The work never ended on November 5…. The work has been going on for a very, very long time, and this is just the next step in that journey,” Emmerson said. “It’s really easy to feel apathetic, but apathy is one of the reasons we’re in this situation.”

But similar to Asplin, Emmerson feels that there is room for conversation between Democrats and Republicans—especially after seeing Trump win the popular vote.

“Over 50 percent of this country wanted to elect [Trump]. There’s got to be a reason for that, and I think that it’s important to figure out what that reason is, to listen to what people are saying and then figure out what we want to do,” she said. “I will not compromise my values, but there’s certainly room for conversation…. But my values are not up for negotiation. Those are core parts of who I am.”

In an effort to help students release stress after the election, the Student Engagement and Leadership team on campus organized a series of “Election Decompression Events.” Student Wellness and Residential Life also helped plan the series of events.

Assistant Director of Student Wellness Programs and Coordinator of Wellness Outreach Kate Nicholson compared decompressing after the election to the release of air pressure.

“A national election is like its own weather system, and it has been gradually building its own pressure and intensity for several months leading up to this week. Everyone experiences the weather in their own way, but I think most bodies and nervous systems are craving some degree of air pressure release, a big out breath,” Nicholson wrote in an email to the Orient. “Decompression activities give students a chance to practice self-check-ins, tune into what they need and, hopefully, find ample opportunities to meet those needs.”

Nicholson also acknowledged that not all students decompress the same way.

“Students may find that counseling is the most helpful way to take care. Other students might crave a distraction and need to get off campus or go do something fun for a bit,” Nicholson wrote. “Or maybe resuming routine is the most grounding. There’s no right or wrong way to feel or to move forward, but we hope that you’re mindful and attentive with both yourselves and each other.”

Isa Cruz is a member of the Bowdoin Orient.

Editor’s Note on November 8 at 10:30 a.m.: An earlier version of this article mistakenly stated that Natalie Emmerson is the president of Bowdoin Democrats. It has been updated to reflect that Natalie Emmerson is a co-leader of the organization.