Harvard Professors Cancel Classes as Students Feel Blue After Trump Win

At 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Sophia R. Mammucari ’28 woke up to a phone call from her mom — and the news that Donald Trump had been officially reelected.

“I still had some hope that she was going to win by a small amount. And then I woke up this morning, and that’s not what happened,” Mammucari said. “I probably cried for like an hour.”

On election night, students gathered at viewing parties hosted by friends, House tutors, the Institute of Politics, and the Harvard Republican Club to watch results roll in.

The next morning, they woke up to a somber campus.

When Samantha M. Holtz ’28 googled the presidential election’s outcome before her Wednesday morning swim practice, her “heart dropped a little bit.”

“Being at Harvard, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were very pro-Harris, so in my mind it was already a decided election,” Holtz said. “It was a little bit shocking to me.”

Luke P. Kushner ’27 said he was “really, really disappointed” by the presidential election results.

“Very early on in the night, it became pretty clear that it was going to go in the direction of Trump,” Kushner said. “I went to bed before they called it, and at that point I was pretty resigned.”

‘Space to Process’

In Harvard’s freshman dining hall Wednesday morning, Holtz joined a teammate to eat breakfast with College Dean Rakesh Khurana.

According to Holtz, Khurana told students to “let yourself feel a bunch of emotions about how this is going to impact us in the future, and listen to other people and how they feel about it too.”

Some professors also encouraged students to process in the aftermath of the election, adjusting course requirements in kind.

Courses such as Sociology 1156: “Statistics for Social Sciences” and Applied Math 22a: “Solving and Optimizing,” as well as several General Education courses — 1074: “The Ancient Greek Hero” and 1111: “Popular Culture and Modern China” among them — canceled their Wednesday classes, made attendance optional, or extended assignment deadlines.

The move echoes the aftermath of Trump’s first win in 2016, when professors postponed exams and changed lesson plans to lighten students’ schedules.

Economics lecturer Maxim Boycko wrote in a Wednesday email to students in Economics 1010a: “Intermediate Microeconomics” that the course’s typical in-class quizzes would be optional.

“As we recover from the eventful election night and process the implications of Trump’s victory, please know that class will proceed as usual today, except that classroom quizzes will not be for credit,” Boycko wrote. “Feel free to take time off if needed.”

Jack A. Kelly ’26 said he “was tempted to say ‘no’ to class today.”

“I had some professors that have been like, ‘If you need to not come to class, that’s understandable,’” he added. “This definitely takes a toll on people’s mental wellbeing.”

Throughout Wednesday, student organizations, faculty, and House tutors also offered chances to come to terms with the election results.

Physics professor Jennifer E. Hoffman ’99 wrote in an email to physics students and faculty that her office would be “a space to process the election.”

“Many in our community are sleep-deprived, again grieving for glass ceilings that weren't shattered, fearful for the future, or embarrassed to face our international colleagues,” she wrote. “I stress-baked several pans of lemon bars to share.”

A ‘Very Dark Moment’

For many College students, Trump’s policy proposals mark a source of despair for the next four years.

“Long term, I’m very concerned about Trump’s policies and the things that he has endorsed,” Kushner said. “Trump’s attitude towards democracy and the norms that we have in this country are really, really concerning.”

Kelly, who is enrolled in a class about healthcare, said he is particularly aware of Trump’s potential impact on American medical systems.

“We have an exam next week about the Affordable Care Act and other kinds of healthcare policies,” he said. “A lot of what we’re learning might become moot if the ACA and the progress that was made under that law is repealed in the second Trump administration.”

Eleanor M. Powell ’25 said she is especially worried about Trump’s impact on the judicial system.

“I’m really worried about the court — and not just the Supreme Court, all of the courts where he will be able to appoint judges,” Powell said. “I think we’re in for a very dark moment in the 21st century’s history.”

The Harvard Institute of Politics hosted an election watch party in Sanders Theater on Tuesday, November 5th. By Assma Alrefai

Several students attributed their emotional reactions to Trump’s rhetoric toward minority groups across the U.S.

“I just couldn’t believe that Donald Trump won, because he is literally a felon, he’s a criminal, and he’s a racist,” Rachel J.E. Chung ’28 said. “I just can’t believe America voted that way.”

“I feel really sad for the state of women,” Claire V. Miller ’28 said. “If the candidate hadn’t been a Black woman — like if it had been a white man who was just younger than Trump and mentally sharp — I think they could’ve won.”

Victor E. Flores ’25, co-president of the Harvard College Democrats, said he was afraid for the “countless people” who could be affected by Trump’s policies.

“There are marginalized communities across the country that are waiting and watching to see what will happen,” he said. “I am certainly disappointed by these results.”

‘We’re Not Going Anywhere’

For politically engaged Harvard students in groups like Harvard College Democrats and the IOP, Trump’s win marked the conclusion of months of heavy campaigning.

Harvard College Democrats Co-President Tova L. Kaplan ’26 praised the students who have been “working incredibly hard” campaigning for Kamala Harris.

“Those networks that we’ve built and the skills that we’ve built — in students organizing, canvassing, political communications, community building, issue area, advocacy and more — are going to be all the more crucial in this fight ahead,” she said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Alexander H. Lee ’27 said while results were not what he was hoping for, he is motivated to focus on local politics and “make the best out of what we have right now.”

Though students on both sides of the political aisle fought hard for their preferred candidate, IOP President Pratyush Mallick ’25 said he enjoyed seeing bipartisan “unity” at the IOP watch party and “super high” voter turnout.

With the end of the presidential campaigns, Mallick added that students interested in careers in presidential administration have entered a “transition process.”

“Many people who are thinking about pursuing careers in a Harris administration might explore opportunities and other avenues of public service and walk down those pathways,” he said. “And people who are kind of doing the vice versa might look to transition over to the Trump administration.”

‘A Lot More Vocal’

With Trump’s return to the Oval Office, some students said, Harvard’s campus may see a surge in conservative activism despite its usual “blue tint.”

Many students agreed that support for Trump is strong in limited conservative pockets, including the Harvard Republican Club — which endorsed Trump in July — and the Salient, a conservative student magazine which has published pro-Trump content this year.

According to Rachele D. Chung ’28, Harvard students with more conservative beliefs tend to be quieter, but student Democrats “scream it from the rooftops.”

But in the aftermath of the election, some students predict a change.

“I’m very clear eyed about what this election means in terms of emboldening misogynistic, racist, hateful rhetoric,” Kaplan said.

“I don’t know to what extent that will trickle down to Harvard,” she added, but “we’re going to do our best to make sure that it doesn’t.”

“I think that the Trump supporters will now be a lot more vocal on this campus which, free speech is great, but there might be more animosity,” Mammacuri said.

Jara A. Emtage-Cave ’25, a student on the women’s rugby team, said pro-Trump sentiment seemed to gain traction even before November.

“In the past two weeks before the election, I’ve encountered a lot more people who are pro-Trump, specifically in the athletics community,” Emtage-Cave said.

Following the election, Akash D. Anandam ’28 said he assumed a handful of Harvard students were “popping champagne.”

On Tuesday night, HRC was indeed gleefully ushering in a second Trump presidency.

“It is morning again in America!” HRC President Michael Oved ’25 wrote in a statement to The Crimson Wednesday morning.

“I am pleased that the Harvard Republican Club played a part in this remarkable victory and historic comeback of President Trump,” Oved wrote. “It’s now time for us all to come together, unite around our new President, and tackle the issues that face our country.”

—Staff writer Madeleine A. Hung can be reached at madeleine.hung@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.