Experiencing Clinton’s loss firsthand
On Tuesday, Nov. 8, I woke up at 6:45 a.m., registered for classes, voted, then got into a car to drive to New York City. I arrived at the Javits Center four hours before the event was scheduled to start, and waited there for the next 10 hours to hear the results of the presidential election.
I was with thousands of my fellow hardcore Hillary Clinton believers as we lost the presidential election.
Like many others, I did not anticipate the loss. For all of the reasons we hear now—social desirability, inaccurate polling, FBI Director James Comey’s “October surprise,” sexism, turnout rates, and dozens more—the presidential election had a surprising outcome for many.
As the results grew more and more grim, many friends texted me condolences, saying it was a shame I wasted my time traveling to NYC on a whim.
The thing is, I do not regret it at all. I do not regret standing for 10 hours with complete strangers. I do not regret the train ride that brought us home in the early morning hours, then waking up a couple hours later to catch a train back to Philly. If I knew how it would end and was given the choice, I would still go.
All of us at Saint Joseph’s University were given the opportunities of our lifetimes during this election cycle. Pennsylvania was a heavily contested state, meaning that the candidates and their surrogates made fairly regular trips to our area over the course of the past year. Hillary, Bill and Chelsea Clinton, President Barack and Michelle Obama, President-Elect Donald Trump, Vice President-Elect Mike Pence, and many local political figures headlined countless campaign events throughout and bordering the city. Let’s stop for a second and remember how cool that was. As college students we were far better situated to get to these events. Most of us could skip class and head to the event, and many professors encouraged it.
We may never have that kind of access to politicians and other enthusiastic supporters again, especially if we anticipate moving away from swing states following graduation.
It was with this attitude that I traveled to New York on Tuesday afternoon. Like waiting to buy a coveted new gaming system on Black Friday, the lines were massive. Men and women of all ages and backgrounds lined up decked out in their best red, white, and blue pantsuits. During the long hours of waiting, the crowds were friendly and cheering, with folks making food runs for everyone in line around them and parting the sea of people so that guests with disabilities were able to access the ADA-compliant restrooms.
I was accompanied by a recent college grad who I had met while interning in Washington, D.C. last fall, and we drove a middle-aged volunteer who had flown in from California to canvass in Pennsylvania. We waited in line behind a high school senior and his dad from New York. A contingent of “Moms Demand Action” from Tennessee stood behind us at the stage. An entire family—mother, grandmother, and sisters—had members of the crowd translating the speeches into Spanish for them. A woman who flew in from Australia because of her academic interest in the U.S. presidencies chatted with us for hours.
I had so much fun meeting all of these people. It was strangely cathartic to forge new friendships across several hours based on our shared political values and then be with those same supporters as we experienced the emotion of watching state after state elect Trump. Though most of us were silent as we watched the big screen coverage of the results, we were certainly in solidarity. I do not know if I have ever heard cheering louder than when they called Virginia for Clinton; it gave the crowd something to believe in as our campaign was beginning to rightly lose hope.
Fortunately, my ticket allowed me outside to see the speakers, many of whom were familiar from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this past summer. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Khizr Khan, father of Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed during the Iraq War, the Mothers of the Movement—including Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, and Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner—and Katy Perry with boyfriend Orlando Bloom. By waiting all day I was in the front row, less than 10 feet away from these famous faces.
We were able to celebrate with New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who gave his acceptance speech to our ecstatic crowd, though this victory was expected. Of course I have learned now not to discount such victories, because expectations, unlike glass ceilings, are easily shattered.
In her concession address the next morning, Secretary Clinton spoke to us directly; those of us who voted in a presidential election for the first time and who put our heart and soul into a campaign for the first time.
“This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.”
