Harvard professors cancel classes as students feel blue after Trump’s win | News

On November 9, 2024By Littum

At 7 a.m. Wednesday, Sophia R. Mammucari ’28 woke up to a phone call from her mother — and the news that Donald Trump had officially been re-elected.

“I still had hope that she would win by a small amount. And then I woke up this morning and that’s not what happened,” Mammucari said. “I probably cried for an hour.”

On election night, students gathered at parties hosted by friends, tutors, the Institute of Politics and the Harvard Republican Club to watch the results roll in.

The next morning they woke up to a gloomy campus.

When Samantha M. Holtz ’28 Googled the outcome of the presidential election before her swim practice Wednesday morning, her “heart dropped a little bit.”

“When I was at Harvard, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were very pro-Harris, so in my mind it was already a foregone conclusion,” Holtz said. “It was a bit shocking to me.”

Luke P. Kushner ’27 said he was “really, really disappointed” in the results of the presidential election.

“Very early in the night, it became pretty clear that it was going to go Trump’s way,” Kushner said. “I went to bed before they called it, and at that point I was pretty resigned.”

‘Space to process’

In Harvard’s freshman dining hall Wednesday morning, Holtz joined a teammate to have breakfast with College Dean Rakesh Khurana.

According to Holtz, Khurana told the students to “let yourself feel a lot of emotion about how this is going to affect us in the future and listen to other people and how they feel about it as well.”

Some professors also encouraged students to process the aftermath of the election by adjusting course requirements in kind.

Courses such as Sociology 1156: “Statistics for Social Sciences” and Applied Math 22a: “Solving and Optimizing,” as well as several general education courses — 1074: “The Ancient Greek Hero” and 1111: “Popular Culture and Modern China” among them — canceled their Wednesday classes , made participation optional or extended task deadlines.

The move is an echo of Trump’s first victory in 2016, where professors postponed exams and changed lesson plans to accommodate students’ schedules.

Economics instructor Maxim Boycko wrote in a Wednesday email to students in Economics 1010a: “Intermediate Microeconomics” that the course’s typical in-class quizzes would be optional.

“As we recover from the eventful election night and process the implications of Trump’s victory, please know that classes will continue as normal today, except classroom quizzes will not be for credit,” Boycko wrote. “You are welcome to take time off if necessary.”

Jack A. Kelly ’26 said he was “tempted to say ‘no’ to class today.”

“I’ve had some professors who have thought, ‘If you don’t have to come to class, that’s understandable,'” he added. “This is definitely taking a toll on people’s mental well-being.”

Throughout Wednesday, student organizations, faculty and house counselors also offered chances to come to terms with the election results.

Physics professor Jennifer E. Hoffman ’99 wrote in an email to physics students and faculty that her office would be “a place to process the election.”

“Many in our society are sleep-deprived, again mourning glass ceilings that were not broken, fearful of the future or embarrassed to face our international colleagues,” she wrote. “I stress baked several pans of lemon bars to share.”

A ‘very dark moment’

For many college students, Trump’s policy proposals mark a source of despair for the next four years.

“Long term, I am very concerned about Trump’s policies and the things that he has supported,” Kushner said. “Trump’s attitude toward democracy and the norms we have in this country is really, really troubling.”

Kelly, who is enrolled in a class on health care, said he is particularly concerned about Trump’s potential impact on American medical systems.

“We have an exam next week on the Affordable Care Act and other kinds of health policies,” he said. “Much of what we’re learning could be contested if the ACA and the progress made under that law is undone in the second Trump administration.”

Eleanor M. Powell ’25 said she is particularly concerned about Trump’s impact on the justice system.

“I’m really concerned about the court — and not just the Supreme Court, all the courts where he’s going to be able to appoint judges,” Powell said. “I think we are at a very dark moment in the history of the 21st century.”

The Harvard Institute of Politics hosted an election watch party at the Sanders Theater on Tuesday, November 5th. By Asma Alrefai

Several students attributed their emotional reactions to Trump’s rhetoric toward minority groups across the United States

“I just couldn’t believe that Donald Trump won because he’s literally a felon, he’s a criminal, and he’s a racist,” said Rachele D. Chung ’28. “I just can’t believe the United States voted that way.”

“I feel really sad about the condition of women,” said Claire V. Miller ’28. “If the candidate hadn’t been a black woman — like if it had been a white man who was just younger than Trump and mentally sharp — I think they could have won.”

Victor E. Flores ’25, co-president of the Harvard College Democrats, said he was afraid of the “countless people” who could be affected by Trump’s policies.

“There are marginalized communities across the country that are waiting and watching to see what will happen,” he said. “I’m certainly disappointed with these results.”

‘We’re not going anywhere’

For politically engaged Harvard students in groups like the Harvard College Democrats and the IOP, Trump’s victory marked the end of months of heavy campaigning.

Co-president Tova L. Kaplan ’26 of the Harvard College Democrats praised the students who have “worked incredibly hard” on their campaign for Kamala Harris.

“The networks we’ve built and the skills we’ve built—in student organizing, labor, political communication, community building, issue space, advocacy, and more—will be all the more crucial in this battle ahead, ” she said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Alexander H. Lee ’27 said that while the results were not what he hoped for, he is motivated to focus on local politics and “make the best of what we have right now.”

Although students on both sides of the political aisle fought hard for their preferred candidate, IOP President Pratyush Mallick ’25 said he enjoyed seeing bipartisan “unity” at the IOP watchdog party and “super high” voter turnout.

With the end of the presidential campaigns, Mallick added that students interested in careers in the president’s administration have entered a “transitional process.”

“A lot of people who are considering pursuing a career in a Harris administration might explore options and other public service opportunities and go down those paths,” he said. “And people who are kind of doing the reverse might want to consider going over to the Trump administration.”

‘Much more vocals’

Many students agreed that support for Trump is strong in limited conservative pockets, including the Harvard Republican Club — which endorsed Trump in July — and Salient, a conservative student magazine that has published pro-Trump content this year.

According to Chung, Harvard students with more conservative beliefs tend to be quieter, but student Democrats are “shouting it from the rooftops.”

But in the wake of the election, some students predict a change.

“I’m very aware of what this election means in terms of encouraging misogynistic, racist, hateful rhetoric,” Kaplan said.

“I don’t know to what extent it will trickle down to Harvard,” she added, but “we will do our best to make sure it doesn’t.”

“I think the Trump supporters will now be much more vocal on this campus, as free speech is great, but there may be more animosity,” Mammacuri said.

Jara A. Emtage-Cave ’25, a student on the women’s rugby team, said pro-Trump sentiment seemed to be gaining traction even before November.

“In the last two weeks before the election, I’ve come across a lot more people who are pro-Trump, especially in the athletic community,” Emtage-Cave said.

After the election, Akash D. Anandam ’28 said he assumed a handful of Harvard students “popped champagne.”

On Tuesday night, HRC actually gleefully heralded a second Trump presidency.

“It’s morning again in America!” HRC President Michael Oved ’25 wrote in a statement to The Crimson Wednesday morning.

“I am pleased that the Harvard Republican Club played a role in this remarkable victory and historic comeback for President Trump,” Oved wrote. “Now is the time for us all to come together, unite around our new president and tackle the issues facing our country.”

—Staff writer Madeleine A. Hung can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff Writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on threads @azusalippit.