The 2020 presidential election has been an incredibly stressful event for Americans and non-Americans alike, but especially for students. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a large number of mail-in ballots, the winner of the election was not announced on Tuesday night. Or Wednesday. Or Thursday. Or Friday. However, on Saturday, Nov. 7 Democratic nominee and former vice president Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States, defeating incumbent Republican president Donald Trump. Trump is the first president to lose a reelection bid since George H. W. Bush in 1992.
The time leading up to Election Day and the several days after were stressful as votes were slowly counted in battleground states such as Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. However, Trump vows to sue multiple states for voter fraud, though he has not provided any evidence for such fraud taking place.
Student Life is offering multiple resources for Elizabethtown College students to destress after the election and find support. Wednesday and Thursday evenings, Chaplain and Director of Religious Life Rev. Amy Shorner-Johnson or Director of Title IX/Compliance Programs and Intercultural Affairs Nicole Gonzalez were available in person from 6-9 p.m. for drop-in hours. Johnson said that many students took advantage of this resource in particular.
“It is difficult when Zoom is the primary way to reach out. It is difficult to be vulnerable on Zoom. We saw more folks show up at our doors,” she said.
Student Life also had Zoom hangouts on the same dates and times with staff available to chat. A resource board was also provided outside of the HUB which had additional resources. These resources detailed how students could connect with each other on a virtual platform and express themselves creatively.
The Counselling Center offered extended services in the form of drop-in hours and counselling groups specifically designated for election stress.
As the week had dragged on, students were not using the resources as much as they were in the beginning.
“I would say we had a handful of students use the resources, but it has not increased. I think folks are anxious, but the lack of results is putting folks in a place where they are using their energy to try to move through the week,” Shorner-Johnson said. “And if they aren’t getting things done while they wait for results, they also aren’t reaching out.”
However, methods for alleviating stress are not limited to the resources provided by Student Life. Shorner-Johnson highly recommends for students to take a social media and news break. The constant news updates for this election cycle in particular have been overwhelming, so give your mental health a break and stop scrolling. Journaling your anxieties to get them out of your mind and onto the paper is another great way to destress. Go for a walk outside and listen to music or podcasts to get your mind off of the presidential election. Shorner-Johnson also recommends finding a time to meditate or pray in a way that slows you down enough to listen to your own feelings.
The 2020 presidential election has been a tumultuous event, but it will be over and finalized soon enough.
