‘I have to study but I literally can’t’: NYU students lament the 2024 election results amidst deadlines

Students at NYU are grieving the 2024 presidential election results amidst projects and midterms.

Jade Leong (@jadiecakes), a student at NYU, posted a short clip on TikTok of herself and her peers in what appears to be a study hall. The caption reads, “NYU is going through it.” The students were locked in on the nail-biting presidential race earlier this week. Jade reported that she and her friends would “check every two minutes” for updates on the election. One commenter said, “I have to study but I literally can’t.” Their anxiety was understandable, to say the least.

When Trump won, Jade and her roommate were in tears. Life had to go on. As Jade explained to The Mary Sue, she had an 8 AM class, so she pushed through, but NYC’s streets were deafeningly silent. “Women had their gazes on the floor. If you made eye contact with someone, there was a silent nod of acknowledgment that we lost.” One professor asked her students how they felt and decided to be lenient in participation. Another one of Jade’s professors suggested moving their midterm exam. They at least acknowledged the students’ somber mood.

There was evident distress, but Jade said none of her professors canceled class. She also claims that NYU sent resources for discussions about the election. Other than that, she said her other professors went on as if it were a normal day. Life must go on. It didn’t matter that Jade waited one and a half hours with her parents, freezing in Long Island’s cold weather, just to vote in person, or that her friends stood in line for two hours to do their civic duty. This was a crucial moment for voters. The battle against misinformation, the campaigning, and everything else would be for nothing if people didn’t go out and vote. So she did, but sadly, Trump still won.

Respite is not resignation

Despite their best efforts, Donald Trump won. Understandably, students like Jade feel defeated.

Everyone says life must go on—that women have to be strong and that they must simply carry on. But what’s the point of studying when it feels like there is no future left to fight for?

Jade isn’t mourning alone. Other students in her TikTok video replies are grieving in solidarity. Students from Belgium, Germany, the U.K., and many other countries have shared the same feelings of loss in the comments section. They’re clearly not in the right state of mind to study right now.

Would it be too much to ask schools and universities to give these students time to grieve? Educational institutions shouldn’t be ignoring these students’ anxiety and fears. Trump’s second term, based on his campaign, will threaten liberties many Americans have taken for granted. Life will go on eventually, that’s for sure. The youth won’t give up on their democracy but need time and space to process this loss.