By Kirsten Nguyen, The Whetstone

Wesley College freshman Katelyn Schoof was startled when waking up the day after the presidential election to find that Donald Trump was elected.

“I was surprised because of how close the election was and how Hillary was leading before I went to bed,” Schoof said.

Many also were surprised about how wrong the polls were.

“Polls are a useful tool, but they are over relied on,” Political Science professor Cynthia Newton said.

Swing states in the election, including nearby Pennsylvania, surprised many when Trump won instead of Clinton. Historically, Pennsylvania had often voted Democratic.

“I think they forget that there is more to Pennsylvania other than Philadelphia” Newton said.

Voting in many rural areas increased, bringing out voters who may have not participated in the polls. Overall, the percentage of voters who cast ballots dropped by nearly 5 percent.

“People were put off by the choices for president and discouraged,” Armstrong said.

“There was such a negative campaign on both sides” Newton said.

The candidates for president may have been a little off-setting, but many, like freshman Brooke Retkowski, blame it on the media.

“I feel that people were uneducated because people my age go off of the media and don’t research the allegations the media made,” she said.

Instead of questioning how Donald Trump was elected, many students said they were ready to accept it and move on.

“I’m excited to see what changes will happen, and hopefully the haters see he wasn’t a bad option and support him instead of saying he isn’t our president when he obviously is,” Retkowski said.

“I feel like our country will do just fine,” Schoof said. “It’s not the president who chooses how the people act or the choices they make.”

Newton said the election was a lesson learned.

“Overall, it’s a reminder to our education system to teach people to be better citizens and understand the presidential election process,” Newton said.