Over a week after the presidential election, Macalester is still coping with the events of Nov. 2. Gone are the political signs and the celebrity visits, but the real effect of the election seems to lie in students’ emotions.

Many members of the overwhelmingly Democratic Macalester community have suffered from a bit of depression since the Bush victory. On Nov. 3, some students were in tears as they watched Senator John Kerry’s concession speech and many were visibly upset throughout the day.

Over the past few months, many students devoted countless hours to getting Kerry elected, working both through the Kerry campaign and indirectly through outside groups.

And as all the work culminated in last week’s loss, many were not sure where to turn next. “I’m kind of lost,” Mac Dems co-chair Andrea Johnson ’06 said. “I dedicated a good three months to the Kerry campaign. What do I do now?”

Around 2 a.m. last Friday, an unknown party lowered and set fire to the American and United Nations flags outside Weyerhaeuser Chapel. Johnson, who arrived while the flag was still in flames, said she saw no suspects.

Most students seem to have come to terms with the Bush victory. Many are examining what Kerry did wrong and what Bush’s impending second term means for the country and for student activism.

Nevertheless, many students are still shocked, wondering how more than half the country could vote for George Bush. Many said they have a hard time understanding Republicans in an environment like Macalester, where conservative voices are few and far between.

“There’s definitely a Macalester bubble [and] it burst when the election results came out,” Sara Johnson ’05 said. Johnson said she has coped with the election by communicating a lot with her family, discussing how and why Bush won. Laura Kerr ’07 said that she feels out of touch with the country and “almost betrayed.”

Some students have responded by criticizing John Kerry as a candidate, and others have focused on possible voter fraud in Ohio and Florida, claiming that the Democrats have been cheated out of two straight elections.

There has also been much talk of what the future holds for the Democratic Party. Students are debating about what the party will look like in two or four years. Like others across the country, students are already discussing possibilities for the 2008 presidential election.

“Are the Democrats going to find a message?” Adi Heller ’05 asked.

The elections of 2006 and 2008 are a long time away, and with the Republicans dominating every branch of government, a number of students have pledged to become more active in order to push their agendas.

“I’m not ready to give up yet,” said former Minnesota College Students for Kerry co-chair Zach Teicher ’07. “I’m not done fighting. I’ve been angry since 2000.” Johnson and Teicher, who is also involved in MacDems, added that the student group will continue fighting for issues that they fear Republicans may marginalize in the coming years.

Many students say they are concerned about changes in the composition of the Supreme Court, specifically the possibility that Bush will appoint judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade. Johnson, a pro-choice advocate, said that she plans to become more involved in protecting abortion rights and she encourages other students to become vocal about issues they care about. “[I want to see people] volunteering for things that may be in danger,” she said.

Jared Lodge ’05 and John Knefel ’05 agreed that while they were upset that Bush won reelection, they do not see their level of activism changing as a result. “I feel like right now, we’re in a place where history can be reversed,” Knefel said.

“This is not just a symbolic defeat,” Lodge said. “There are still real problems for real people that we have to work at.”