Adults and teens throughout the Camas community have expressed strong opinions about the election. The delayed process of counting the votes was a worrying and stressful time for many people. Although the community has very different reactions to former Vice President Joe Biden being announced the President-elect by most news sources, Camas High School teachers and students feel the need to come together as a community regardless of political beliefs. 

Sophia Brown, a freshman at CHS, suspected that the election would be very close because Biden and President Trump both have a multitude of supporters.

Brown said, “I am not nervous, it is good that they are taking their time and making sure everything is correct.”

Despite all the advertising encouraging Americans to vote this year, about one-third of the population did not. Brown believes that Americans have a responsibility to vote.

Alisa Wise, a math teacher at CHS, believes that America needs to find a way to reach all people. Wise thinks that the one-third of the population that decided not to vote felt that their vote would not have mattered. 

Wise said, “I know there has been talk of making election day a federal holiday and perhaps that is not a bad idea?”

Wise also said that she is not nervous about the slow counting of votes because she believes that all votes should be counted.

Right now, people in the community are very separated politically.

“We, as a people, have personal responsibility for ourselves and our neighbors – for our own personal pursuit of happiness and to be good to our family and neighbors. If we do this… we will continue to be fine,” said Wise.

She added, “We are a divided country right now. We have become polarized. We have folks who are trying to deal with issues with extreme measures on both ends.”

Wise expressed her disappointment about how politicians attack each other and is overall frustrated by this election.  

Brady Miletich, a Business teacher at CHS, is happy to hear about the record voter turnout this year. He is unsure why so many people still do not vote, and believes that it should be made easier.

Miletich said, “I don’t think it’s abnormal how long it is taking, it’s just so close that they have to count every ballot very carefully.”

He was surprised by how close the election was.

“I’m not surprised with how close the electoral college is, our nation is pretty divided and passionate about their side right now. I think that is showing in the results,” said Miletich.

He has always found presidential elections quite interesting and enjoys learning about democracy and how important the election process is.

CHS Senior Audrey Stewart weighed in on her thoughts about the community’s response so far.

She said, “For the most part I think our community has responded well.”

She added, “There haven’t been any protests or rallies that I’ve heard about in our area, which is a neutral sign. For a few days after the election, I saw some Trump supporters posting on their snap stories nothing really bad or hateful, just more of a congratulations and I hope you get what you asked for.”

Sophia Rundle, a freshman at CHS, strongly believes that everyone needs to stay together as a community, despite having different political views.

She said, “I think our country is so divided because our two-party system is so radically different.”

Rundle added, “I think that time will be the only way of telling how to mend those divisions. The scars that divide this country only seem to become deeper and deeper by the day. Riots grow, hatred brews, and our different opinions that so harshly divide the nation become deeper divots plunging towards the depths of political tyranny and corruption.”

Although people’s political views are diverse in the Camas community, students and teachers agree that everyone needs to come together during these unprecedented times.

Camasonian journalists Ella Iavicoli and Zach Gittings contributed to this article.