Republican Donald J. Trump has been declared the 47th president of the United States after a stunning victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. He becomes the second president to win non consecutive terms and the first convicted felon to be elected. Throughout Election Day, the staff of BU Today fanned out across the Boston University community to capture how faculty, staff, and students were experiencing the history-shaping day. Harris could have become the first woman to be America’s president. Trump returns to power after being defeated in 2020 and impeached following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Scroll down to see vignettes from the day—videos, photos, interviews, and more.

11 pm: Mass. voters reject MCAS test as a graduation requirement

Late Tuesday, voters in Massachusetts appeared poised to give the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test a failing grade as the state’s only uniform high school graduation requirement. 

A yes vote on ballot question 2, one of five issues Bay State voters weighed in on Tuesday, removes a requirement that high school students pass the subject-matter MCAS tests in order to receive their diplomas. Beginning immediately with the class of 2025, students would be required to complete certain coursework to graduate rather than the MCAS. The measure had the backing of the state’s teacher’s unions, and its opposition was largely funded by business leaders.

Mary L. Churchill, associate dean at BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, says she voted yes on the measure because she believes the MCAS is an unnecessary barrier to graduation that doesn’t contribute materially to the commonwealth’s high-quality education.

“I do not think that overnight, our culture is going to change and we’re not going to care about education anymore,” Churchill says. “That’s why I think this issue has been so polarizing, because people have incredibly strong feelings about it. I don’t think we’re going to abandon our young people if this passes.”

9:30 pm: Tense student watch party at the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground

As CNN aired early returns from Philadelphia County, Terriers from hometowns in swing states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan were glued to the big screen at the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, where students had gathered for a watch party cosponsored by the BU Student Government and BU Votes. One could hear murmurs of “Every vote counts” and “Trump sucks.” 

About 450 students were in attendance, some with laptops open on their laps as they checked for breaking news. To help calm frayed nerves, students were served food catered by Salonki Greek and Dominos Pizza. Red, white, and blue balloons decorated the space. 

“It’s cool seeing young people going out in huge numbers to vote,” said Demir Genc (CAS‘26), adding that it was incredibly important for his peers to exercise their civic duty. 

“As a Black woman in America, I’m a little terrified,” Ogenna Oraedu (CAS‘25) confided. “I know how I voted, but I don’t even know how comfortable I feel about that vote. I’m trying to stay optimistic.”

Isabelle Megosh (CAS‘25), director of city affairs for BU Student Government, voted for the second time since she turned 18—but this was her first time voting in a presidential race. Megosh had dedicated the past few weeks of her semester to getting the vote out on campus, with a series of voter education events, like paint-and-sips and pumpkin-painting.

Megosh, who voted by absentee ballot in her home state of Maryland, said it was important to remind BU students of basic rules for voting, including the “how tos” of submitting a mail-in ballot to ensure the vote gets counted. “It’s important to me that I get a say in [this election],” she said.

9 pm: A nail-biter, as predicted

Historian Andrew David was expecting a long night.

“This is history,” said David (CAS’05, GRS’18), a CGS senior lecturer in social sciences. “And I think I said to you over the summer when we talked about Biden leaving the race, history is exhausting. And I think this is the perfect encapsulation of that.

“Some of the early exit polling is bad for Biden, let’s put it that way,” he says. “Whether that means it’s bad for Harris is different. In terms of how people are viewing the economy or their lives. a number of other smarter people than I have said this: if you feel the country’s going in the wrong direction, you’re more likely to vote for someone else.

“That said, while there’s still votes to be counted, the story out of Pennsylvania seems to be good for the Democrats. If they win Pennsylvania and they basically hold everywhere else, that’s good news for Harris. So I think those are places where both sides can kind of look at a little bit of light.”

So it looks like the many predictions of a long, drawn-out, nail-biter of an election are coming true? 

“That is the case, or at least in the states we’ve seen so far,” David says. “I guess part of the question is, how do we define nail-biter? Is it that every state comes down to the 50-50 mark? Are there some states where it actually turns out that the gender divide seems to be real in a number of places, the women turn out and they swing a state from 50-50 to 60-40, 70-30 or something like that. That, I think, is the place where we’re going to see the largest break from the polls if we do. But we haven’t seen really any sign of that yet.”

7 pm: The “Kornacki Cam,” starring NBC and MSNBC’s national political correspondent Steve Kornacki (COM’01)

Kornacki became a social media darling during the 2020 presidential election for his spirited and thorough election analysis. People are counting on him to do the same tonight.

6 pm: School of Public Health Student Senate has no time for election anxiety

At their second general body meeting of the fall semester, the SPH Student Senate was buzzing with excitement. Recharged after midterms and ready to deliver on their remaining calendar of events, the main item on their agenda for the evening was planning their upcoming Bridgerton Prom, to be held at Fuller Pub on November 15. The students they represent specifically requested this event and the senate is investing a lot of time, money, and energy into its success. Founders Room, the conference room in the Talbot Building where the group meets once a month, was charged on Tuesday evening with an uplifting energy as hands were eagerly raised to volunteer to help with preparations for the event, including the creation of décor to evoke 19th century England. The group’s optimism was perhaps buoyed by its makeup: the majority of those in attendance were international students. When asked what she makes of the election, Student Senate president Diksha Venugopal (SPH’26) said she wondered why today isn’t a holiday like election day is in her home country of India. A round of nods showed others agreed with her.

4:27 pm Why do people rebel and resist?

In Andrew David’s College of General Studies class, Agents of Global Change: Rebels, Radicals, and Revolutionaries, the talk on Tuesday was about the American Revolution, the Haitian revolution, and the resistance in Vichy France. But the election was never far from mind. One student walked in early groaning in disgust—her brother had just texted her that he voted for Trump.

The diverse class of 15 mostly second-year students wrestled with questions like, why would people make the kind of political and ideological alliances they make? How can ideology divide a nation? Why do people align themselves with certain leaders? How do they express their opinions without running afoul of the powers that be? How do they balance lofty goals and self-interest when deciding to risk it all for a cause? Can you stay neutral and still be a good citizen?

“Hate is a powerful drug,” said David (CAS’05, GRS’18), a CGS senior lecturer in social sciences and a historian.

And what about all the noise and misinformation that were out there way back in the 1770s? What about the promises leaders make, and what happens when they don’t come true? Not surprisingly, none of these questions were solved before the class ended, while outside the voting—and the noise—continued.

3:10 pm: Forget Trump/Harris. It’s BU vs. Tufts

“I have an exciting announcement,” Lauren Mattioli, a CAS assistant professor of political science, told her students. “Are you running for president?” one shot back, reasonably enough (this was Mattioli’s Presidential Leadership class, after all).

No. Instead, her class would try to forecast the results of the Electoral College better than a counterpart class being taught by a Tufts colleague. The winner would get some edible treats, Mattioli said.

To assist her charges in the tricky task of election forecasting, Mattioli spent her lecture on several prediction strategies. One downplays campaigns and candidate quality in favor of macro factors like the economy, social unrest, and the incumbent administration’s record; its leading advocate predicted a Harris win, Mattioli said. Another approach takes a deep dive into polls to build statistical models; its leading proponent predicted Trump would be victorious.

And then there’s the theory, Mattioli added, that if Washington, D.C.’s football team wins the Sunday before the election, the incumbent administration will carry the presidential contest. “That [accurately] predicted the winner for 60 years.” A student scanned his news feed quickly, announcing, “They won,” putting the football method behind a Harris victory.

Our certain prediction: BU-Tufts won’t be decided any sooner than Trump-Harris.

3 pm: Tracking the election “Meme Wars”

“As a class of disinformation researchers, we’re in business at least for the next two months,” Joan Donovan, a College of Communication assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies, said at the beginning of her class, Disinformation and the Press, on Tuesday. In observance of election day, the discussion focused on a dominant force of mis- and disinformation on the internet: memes. Students contributed to a meme observatory—a slide show compiled by each member of the class—and discussed dozens of memes that have been circulating this election season, from Kamala Harris laughing to JD Vance ordering a donut to the late Peanut the squirrel becoming a political rallying cry.

“Memes have these shock and awe moments,” Donovan says. “The context and timing matters when it comes to these fleeting moments of attention.”

This election season, like others before it, has been fraught with attack memes on both sides of the political divide—as illuminated by the class’ findings—and Donovan expects the torrent of political content to continue far past today.

1 pm: Making glitter jars at Marsh Chapel to escape

Create Space meets every Tuesday at the chapel as an oasis amid outside stressful events—”academically, mostly,” said the Rev. Jessica Chicka (STH’07,’11,’18), University chaplain for international students. On Tuesday, though, a national nailbiter had Chicka helping students make glitter jars, a deliberate “child’s craft,” she said, to put sparkle in a dark election season.

The water-and-glue-lined insides of the jar meant that when you shook the jar, the glitter slowly sprinkled to the bottom, “like a snow globe,” she said. “I’m assuming that the people who are coming need a break from all the election news, stress, and tension.”

Jennifer Vinan (CAS’25, COM’25) came by for a break from both a busy study schedule and the election. Her need to escape election news had nothing to do with partisanship: both presidential candidates turned her off, she said. During their single debate, “[Harris] kept saying, ‘I have a plan, I have a plan’ [for the economy] but never gave us a deep dive into what that plan is.” Meanwhile, Trump is “against immigrants,” she says. “My parents are immigrants themselves—they’re originally from Ecuador.” 

Staring at the silver glitter in her jar, she said, “It’s kind of looking like a galaxy, which is pretty nice—escape from reality for a bit.”

12:26 pm: Stay calm by petting Bean

The Dean of Students office welcomed students who were feeling nervous or anxious about Tuesday’s high stakes to stop by for an election “pep talk” with dean of students Jason Campbell-Foster. They could also nosh on free snacks, drinks, warm cookies from Insomnia Cookies, and perhaps, most comforting, a visit with Bean, BU’s therapy dog. Her handler, BUPD Officer Geovanni Chevere, sadly didn’t let her enjoy any of the people snacks. The Dean of Students office is hosting similar wellness and discussion events throughout the week; learn about them on the BU Votes website.

12:20 pm: Instagram post from @bupardeeschool

Noon: Inside “Political Sociology” class dissecting Trump, Harris campaigns

Neck-deep in the election, student presenters in Heather Schoenfeld’s course (Schoenfeld is an associate professor of sociology at the College of Arts & Sciences) chose a presidential campaign to analyze—the media coverage it received and its use of different messaging. Students also offered anecdotes from their experiences volunteering for the campaigns.

Harris volunteers said they encountered a few Republican voters. “We did phone banking for Michigan,” a battleground state, said one student. “They gave you a teleprompter [to read from]. One of the ladies told me she would never vote for Kamala if it were her last dying breath.” But not all voters offered partisan comments. Another student recalled, “There was one lady who said, ‘Help, I dislocated my knee, I can’t get anywhere.’ I was, like, how do I respond to this?”

One student team summarized the sociology of the Harris campaign: “She emphasized her background growing up in the middle class,” with a platform of increasing the minimum wage and raising taxes on the affluent. The Trump-analyzing team noted that “he’s exceptional at leveraging social media.” Though impeached twice, “It doesn’t seem to hold him back. He is a polarizing figure,” while “his strict border policies attract voters concerned about job competition. He wants to cut corporate taxes.”

11:05 am: An Italian student’s perspective on the election

With temperatures in the mid-60s, the BU Beach area was packed with students late morning. Among those enjoying the sunny day was Margherita Piana (ENG’25), an undergrad from Piedmont, Italy, studying computer engineering. Though she can’t vote in this election, Piana says she has been following the news closely and is eager for the results. She says that if she could vote, she’d cast her ballot for Harris because she likes the vice president’s ideas and policies, as would most of her friends back home.

“I know all of my friends in Italy are waiting to see who is going to be the next U.S. president, especially because the U.S. is such an important country, it impacts us directly,” Piana says. “We believe she has better politics for [outside] the U.S. Most of my friends are kind of nervous if Trump wins.”

Piana says her parents are especially anxious about the election results because they worry that a Trump presidency would negatively affect their daughter’s plans of studying cybersecurity in grad school and then working in the U.S. “My parents are especially nervous for me because I’m an international student, I don’t have a green card, I’m an immigrant, so we don’t know what would happen,” she said.

10:42 am: Today’s hottest accessory: “I Voted” stickers

This election has proven to be among the most polarizing in recent history—but there’s one thing we can all agree upon: A selfie with an “I Voted” sticker is worth a thousand words. 

“Stickers have a way of telling other people you have engaged, and they also remind other folks to vote, too,” says Doug Gould, professor of the practice in advertising in BU’s College of Communication.

“They’re amazingly popular as social media fodder,” he adds. “For those who want to make some noise and get some support on their social platforms of choice, it says a lot with just two words. Take a picture of the sticker and throw it out there. Then customize your feelings below if you want to stir the pot.”

The small stickers have been an essential part of the electoral process for decades. And while the rippling American flag—or some variation of red, white, and blue lettering—is the most common design, officials in some states have taken a new direction with the Election Day souvenir. 

Voters in Michigan this year might get a sticker featuring a werewolf tearing off its shirt in front of an American flag, a design created by a 12-year-old student. In New Hampshire, a 10-year-old student created one that highlights the state’s Old Man in the Mountain rock formation. (That formation cleaved off the mountain in 2003, but is still beloved by Granite Staters.)

Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the ballot-holder.

And while the novelty sets some states apart, Gould says the stickers can act as a way of saying “thank you” across the entire country. 

“We’re human, and in our hearts, we like to be thanked or recognized. The stickers are the government’s way of saying ‘I see you and appreciate you,’” he says.

10:16 am: SPH Dean Sandro Galea jokingly notes the importance of the day

At the SPH School Assembly Day, the SPH dean reminded faculty and staff of the multiple analysis pieces by graduate student writers for Public Health Post that examined the issues at stake in the election. The Public Health on the Ballot series broke down the candidates’ records on six key issues: reproductive health, crime and criminal justice, immigration, healthcare coverage, climate, and education.

10:05 am: Woof

Everyone knows pets are a great stress reliever. Alexa Mavromatis, marketing coordinator for Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, was bringing Ruby, her 10-year-old long-coated German Shepherd, to work today, where she would “hide in plain sight” and provide a little relief for those feeling stressed about the election. “There’s nothing better to distract from that than a dog,” said Mavromatis, who voted weeks ago. Ruby declined comment, lifting her snout into the breeze to sniff the aroma emanating from Raising Cane’s. But while she may have strong feelings about fried chicken, she doesn’t take sides in the election: “She’s very neutral,” Mavromatis said.

9:12 am: Managing your Election Day anxiety

Feeling stressed today? You’re not alone. No matter your political views or party affiliation, the presidential election has been a major source of anxiety for most Americans. And since we likely won’t know the results until closer to the end of the week, stress levels are set to remain elevated for the time being. Use these tips today, and all week if necessary, courtesy of Boston University’s Student Health Services.

Use the 5-4-3-2-1 technique if you feel your stress becoming too much. Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. 

Remember what you can and can’t control. You can’t personally overhaul the Electoral College, but you can be civically engaged. Vote, protest, donate, contact your local representatives, join a community advocacy group—there are plenty of actions you can take to make your voice heard, even after Election Day.

Don’t feel guilty about taking a break from the news and social media. Constantly refreshing your feed won’t do much to curb your anxiety, nor will it make the results come in any faster. Don’t feel guilty about stepping away from your phone to grab some coffee, chat with a friend or coworker, or watch a quick episode of a comfort show—whatever you need to do to center yourself. 

Finally, be kind to yourself. Give yourself some grace to function at less than 100 percent this week—odds are, you won’t be the only one struggling. Whatever your preferred self-care rituals are, now is the time to employ them. Read more about election anxiety here, and find additional tips and resources for managing political-related anxiety from SHS here.

9:04 am: Psychedelics, MCAS, and Tips?

Which ballot questions will pass in Massachusetts and which ones will go down? Here is the summary of what’s at stake.

1:05 am: BU Today‘s coverage

For months leading up to November 5, 2024, BU Today has been speaking with members across the BU community about Election Day. With the historic day now here, here are a few pieces worth revisiting:

Two BU students wrote opinion essays on why they are voting for Harris or Trump.

This great video invited BU students to share why voting was important to them.

@bostonu With many students eligible to vote for their first time, we asked these Terriers what’s driving them to cast their ballots. Take a look! 👀 #bostonuniversity #votingrights #vote #studentlife ♬ Instrumental Hip Hop 90´s – Vagabeat

Additional reporting by Michael Saunders, Megan Jones, and Doug Fraser.