The students in Professor Nathan Kelly's Election Year Politics course were anything but apathetic Wednesday afternoon about the results of the election.
The class met a few hours after John Kerry's concession and the expressions of elation and disappointment made it clear that a heated discussion was in store.
The mixed reactions of Kelly's class were representative of the rest of the UB community.
Arianna Grassia, a junior English major said she shed a few tears of disappointment when the results of the election was announced.
" I worked really hard to get Kerry elected," she said.
Grassia volunteered every night for two weeks before the election making calls to voters in swing states, trying to convince them to vote for Kerry. Grassia said the work she put in was the least she could do for a cause for which she held strong convictions.
Grassia said she marvels at the reason why George W. Bush got the majority of the popular vote.
" The exit polls show that people voted because of moral value," she said. "(Bush) claims that God put him in office, he panders to the religious right all the time."
Where Grassia believes the nation went wrong in voting based on religious beliefs, Jeremy Garvin believes there are few better reasons to vote.
"We live in a wasteland, everything was going down morally," said the junior English major. " I'm glad Bush got re-elected, I'm more confident in a man that believes in a higher power than himself."
This past election has been the most divisive in history, many commentators have said. Now that a winner has been announced, some believe the nation must turn a collective eye toward the future.
Kelly, the professor of Election Year Politics, is a political science professor who specializes in areas including American politics, public policy, and elections. He said he thinks that some upcoming issues to be aware of include new welfare reform, the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and a continued war on terrorism.
Although his vote went to Kerry on Tuesday, Kelly said he is only a little left of center. He spoke about some of the topics he thinks will attract major attention in the next few years.
"I think the big issues you'll be seeing deal with social security, and on the economic side of things, a national sales tax," said Kelly. "After this election it's possible to scrap the current tax system and replace it. Although there's a lot of opposition towards it, it will come up, and be treated seriously."
According to Kelly, the national sales tax would replace income tax throughout the country and could amount to as much as 23 percent of a single purchase. Add this on to the current eight percent states sales tax, and this major change will have serious effects on the economy.
Some believe that Bush's policies will have negative effects on the nation's economy.
"As far as policies go, Kerry is anti-outsourcing of jobs," said Sanketh Guruswamy, a graduate student who studies environmental engineering. "He wanted to keep more jobs in the U.S. As an international student, the smart thing for me to do is support Bush because there will be more jobs for me. But I can't look past the fact that he is capital D-U-M-B."
James Campbell, a professor of political science, is one of UB's most prominent conservative faculty members. Campbell said he believes the Republican Party stands for issues that have guaranteed effects rather than simply favorable intentions.
He said he believes Bush's policies will work well toward building a strong economy and re-uniting the nation.
"I think the nation is and will remain deeply divided politically," he said. "I believe the economy will experience greater growth in the second Bush term and that this will lessen some of the bitterness of those on the fringe left."
The war in Iraq was one of the most divisive issues during the election, and it is still a major topic of discussion on campus.
"We're going to keep doing what we're doing when it comes to terrorism," said Kelly. "The probability of a terrorist attack didn't change in the past four years. We're just paying more attention to it now."
Terrorism and the war in Iraq are possibly the most heatedly debated issues on campus.
Christopher Jarkowski, a sophomore undecided major, has considered himself a strong Republican for the past few years. He adamantly supports Bush's views on abortion and the placement of troops overseas.
"With Bush we have succeeded in liberating Iraq and creating a democracy," he said. "I don't think Kerry would be able to continue to do as a good of a job if had been elected."
Ben Caine, a senior history major, said he believes the issue on war divided liberals and conservatives because of the stigma liberals received for speaking out against the war.
"The Republican sentiment is that if you're against the war then you don't support the troops," he said, " but why can't we question the war and support the troops that were sent over there? Just because we believe in the right to choose, or we oppose the war doesn't make us any less American or means that we have any lower values."
Some believe the faith placed in the President is absolutely warranted.
"I think (President Bush) is completely able to go as far right as he wants to," said Shannon Harrington, a junior sociology major and outspoken Republican. "In the next four years he has total ample opportunity to bring back things we lack and take advantage of the situation."
Elizabeth Schear, a junior English major, who joked that she'll be moving to Canada now that the election is over, thinks that the country is in a sad state right now.
"Bush is too conformist," she said. "In the world we live in today issues like abortion and gay marriage should not be receiving the negative connotations that they are. Our country needs to be more open to change and personal choice."
With conflicted opinions about the election, and some still questioning how much support Bush really has in the country, some believe the results of the election say it all.
"A win is a win," said Harrington. "The only things that can come close are hand grenades and horseshoes."
