Election Anxiety, Depression, and Community

Our intersecting identities found in community can give us the strength to persist

Yve Spengler

Across campus, we advocated for each other to vote in several ways. We posted resources on our Instagram stories to ensure accessibility for our fellow students. We stood out in the cold with signs to cheer each other on for voting as we walked to class. We held our breath leading to the election, our worlds a bubble of anxiety. Votes were split narrowly between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. But by the Wednesday morning after election day, for many of our liberal friends, the results came in like a hard sucker punch straight to the gut, and the air was knocked clean out of our lungs. 

For many of our BIPOC, LGBTQIA+2S, female, and other minority communities, having Trump as our leader feels like many of our rights will be attacked because of the policies and rhetoric he stands for. The election results feel like a terrifying reminder that capitalism’s exploitative nature and institutionalized white supremacy are still ingrained into society. 

For our liberal friends, let us not forget the power our communities still hold. No matter how the election results affect you, whether or not you're privileged enough to have it affect your daily life, we as educated students stand together and for each other. Take care of yourself, then 

reach out to each other again. Do not let the shadow of dark times we may be experiencing cast out all seeds of hope. It is our communities that must force change through love and care. Even if the authority of a community is not always acknowledged at an institutional level, remember that it doesn’t mean the strength of community is nonexistent. 

We students are committed to look out for one another, and especially to use our differing privileges to raise our concerns with informed political actions. Even when governments take steps backwards, we are still the voice of the future, and together can counteract each jab pushing one or more of us back to continually demand and receive progress.