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Here's What Students Are Saying About The Election Results

Election Reaction From Sixth Graders

At 8 a.m. sharp, just hours after Donald Trump was declared president-elect, the hallways at Harrisburg High's SciTech campus were buzzing. There were tears, but also a few subtle nods in approval of the results. But mostly the students expressed their deep desire for Americans here in Pennsylvania and around the country to come together.

In Berkley, Calif., students at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School needed to talk it out, too. "It's definitely going to be a big change," says Jackson, a sixth-grader. "Not necessarily a good change or a bad one. It's just going to be big and different." Paxton, who is 11, made a plea for cooperation: "If we work with him, then we might be able to change his mind about building the wall and sending all the immigrants back."

We asked the Pennsylvania high schoolers: What would it take to get folks to come together? Did they see Trump as their president? Will he be able to heal a divided nation? Here's what they said:

Faridatou Issiako, 18

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"I am still shaken up by the results. It still hasn't hit me yet. But, last night I had so much anxiety, you know, from the poll numbers rising up and down. Hillary is in the lead and then Trump is in the lead. But now, it's clear that Trump has won."

Ahmya Woodyard, 16

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"When he gave his first speech after he became president[-elect] ... how humbling he became. It was like a switch turned on. He won't be as mean and nasty as he was before. He actually just wants to help our country. And he will be the president that we need him to be."

Amira Ellison, 17

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"In regards to what Trump can do and say, only thing he can do is by his actions. He has to show everyone that he is for everyone."

Lacey Thomas, 17

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"For Trump's side, I really supported bringing the jobs back and that type of things, create more opportunities. And also the wall."

Ahmir Cy Edmonds, 16

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"Everyone is really afraid of what Donald Trump could do as president. Just being divided, that's the biggest problem right now."

Destiny Perez, 17

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"In my opinion, I don't think Trump can do anything to unite the country or the people as a whole, because his campaign ... He literally split people more and more apart. He's not what I would want in a president at all."

Alexis Robinson, 15

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"I'm getting nervous because, I don't know, for me being an African-American. Am I safe where I am living? And, it's kinda scary because I don't want to feel that way. It's really serious right now. I have no choice but to see Donald Trump as my president. Because otherwise, I would not be a citizen, I would just be standing around, living."

Ariana Cruz, 15

Elissa Nadworny / NPR
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NPR

"Making [immigrants] come back, but legally. And like, have them sign their papers and that stuff so they would be eligible to live in the U.S. legally. I would agree with everything he has said."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Elissa Nadworny reports on all things college for NPR, following big stories like unprecedented enrollment declines, college affordability, the student debt crisis and workforce training. During the 2020-2021 academic year, she traveled to dozens of campuses to document what it was like to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Her work has won several awards including a 2020 Gracie Award for a story about student parents in college, a 2018 James Beard Award for a story about the Chinese-American population in the Mississippi Delta and a 2017 Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in innovation.
Eric Westervelt is a San Francisco-based correspondent for NPR's National Desk. He has reported on major events for the network from wars and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa to historic wildfires and terrorist attacks in the U.S.
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