Around 3 a.m. on Nov. 9, Donald Trump became the President-elect. In an unprecedented victory, Trump won with 290 electoral votes, compared with Hillary Clinton’s 232 electoral votes. Despite this electoral victory, Clinton won the popular vote, with 47.9 percent of the popular vote contrasted with Trump’s 47.2 percent.

This is the fifth time in our country’s history that the candidate who wins the popular vote loses the election. The last time was back in 2000 when George Bush beat Al Gore 271-266, despite Gore wining around 500,000 more popular votes. The disconnect occurred between the electoral college and the popular vote because Trump won by a small margin in some large states like Pennsylvania, while Clinton won by a large margin in some large states like New York. A petition on change. org which has already gained more than four million signatures, edges the electoral college to make Clinton president because she won the popular vote.

Senior PJ Seeberger said that he believes, “Trump will be an okay president.” He said that he is hoping he will, “back away from his more extreme views like building a wall and banning Muslims and actually do something productive with his term.”

Republicans not only gained control of the presidency, they secured the House and Senate, and a nomination to the Supreme Court. This means that the gridlock in Congress has dissipated for the moment, and Republicans have open access to pass any legislation. The next national election will be in two years when all the House seats are up and 33 percent of Senate seats.

Junior Abby Willis said that she was extremely disappointed with the election results. “I saw [on the tv] the crying face of people that Trump belittled: minorities, woman, the disabled, people of differing religions and opinions to him and I felt for their pain. As a minority and a woman, I was disappointed in our country electing someone who didn’t see me as an equal.”

Following Election Day, some people took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with President-elect Trump and the electoral college system. They shouted, “Love trumps hate,” “The people united, will never be divided” and “Not my president.” Although most protests have stayed peaceful, police in Portland, OR declared on Nov. 10 the planned protest for the night had turned into a riot.

The Southern Poverty Law center has counted more than 300 cases of hateful harassment since Election Day, some done in the name of President-elect Trump. On CBS “60 Minutes,” Trump responded to these hate crimes and said into the camera, “Stop it.”

Griffin Cox, sophomore, said that he felt fearful immediately following the election. “I feared for people who might suffer from this election.” He said he had questions about the future of his generation and how President Trump’s policies will affect college and high school students.

The presidency was not the only way voters could voice their opinion. Washington state voters again elected Jay Inslee as governor. The minimum wage increase passed, while the carbon tax failed. Seeberger said he was enthused about initiative 1501 passing which, “Makes the punishment for committing identity fraud or other scams on senior citizens much harsher.”

In Washington state, voter turnout was 74.2 percent which was higher than the 50 state average at 58.1 percent. However, even in Washington, this means that 25.8 percent of registered voters did not exercise their civil duty to participate in the American democracy.

On Jan. 12, 2017, Trump will be inducted into office and will become our country’s 45th president. As Clinton said in her concession speech, “We owe [Trump] an open mind and a chance to lead.” When President Barack Obama met with Trump at the White House, he said, “If [Trump] succeed[s] the country succeeds.”

As Trump adjusts to the role of President in the next four years, much of the country needs time to heal and process this tumultuous time in history. But as President Obama said, “The path of this country has never been a straight line. We zig and we zag, and sometimes we move in ways that some people think is forward and others think is moving back. Sports… And that’s okay.”