This year’s election was very controversial and unconventional. The question people based their vote on wasn’t, “Who will be the better leader and president for our country?” Rather, it seemed to be: “Who is going to screw up America the least?”

As awful and sad as this sounds, it is a common mindset among many, Republican and Democrat alike. The election of Donald Trump as our 45th president has led to various reactions in our community, including within the halls of Wahlert Catholic.

For some, Trump  is not the candidate they were hoping for, and his election is not exactly welcomed with open arms. Tanner Rudiger, ‘20, is less than thrilled about this change in leadership.

“I am upset that someone that says the things that he does is still eligible to be president. I am also upset that we passed up a great politician that has been in the White House for almost 30 years. She also saw the presidency first hand when she was the first lady for eight years, but she still wasn’t elected over some emails. It makes me very upset that we pick someone who thought ‘why not’ when he started his campaign.”

Others are concerned with the way Trump handles certain situations and are wary of his previous actions. “I am nervous for the state of this country because although he has some qualities that could help the state of this country, I simply cannot look past the hateful comments and qualities of this man,”  Maddie Mulgrew, ‘17, states.

Sam Montag, ‘17, agrees and adds, “The way he treats women, disabled people, soldiers, minorities.  I am scared he might take our country back in time.”

In contrast, many Wahlert students are thrilled with the change in office. “He’s an awesome man with a lot of goals. I believe he is the change this country needs,” said Kirstin Apel, ‘17.

Alex Hingtgen, ‘18, is also looking forward to the changes Trump is expected to bring our country. “I’m excited to see how he deals with the immigration and terrorism issues, something Clinton didn’t have the strength for. Also his background in business and lack of typical politics should make change, so it will be interesting.”

There are others who are neither for nor against Trump or Clinton, and simply prefer the candidate they believe  is the lesser of two evils. Samara Wigginton, ‘20, approaches the election with this mentality: “It’s not that I am happy about him even winning. I just feel like in terms of both of them doing bad things and what they wanted to do, it would be better that he is president.”

Overall, the Wahlert community seems to be fairly evenly split between their emotions in regard to the outcome of this election. Of 59 people surveyed,  55.9 percent   are happy that Trump was elected, compared to the 44.1 percent  who are unhappy with the way the votes panned out.

Regardless of where you personally stand on the issue of Donald Trump’s election, the best thing we can do is face this change with a positive attitude, and remember we are all in agreement of one thing: our love for this beautiful country.