As Tuesday's results of the 2016 presidential election show billionaire Donald Trump defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in their race to the White House, students and faculty on USC's campus take it in and reflect on American politics going forward.
A common observation about the election results was that they weren't predicted from the polls put out by major news media outlets — it looked as though Trump had beaten difficult odds.
"The media's job is not to make the news but it's to report the news," said Charles Bierbauer, dean of USC's College of Information and Communications. "The reality is that most, if not every poll, was off the mark."
Polling aside, news media have also covered both candidates on their campaign trails as they stirred up controversy through their own words and actions. Bierbauer acknowledged a public opinion that the two candidates were "flawed," but the voters still end up making a decision.
"[Trump] is winning in spite of a collection of things that he has said or done that many people found offensive, including people in his own party. Had there been a Clinton win, it would have been in spite of her rather ... cavalier approach to how she handled the email situation," Bierbauer said. "What the voters have said is, 'We don't consider Donald Trump's flaws to be fatal. And we don't find Hillary Clinton's strengths to be sufficient to overcome the feelings we have about her' ... That's the essence of this."
As a former White House correspondent, the dean says that president-elect could have a contested relationship with the press if he continues to criticize its members in the same way he has in the past, and that the press will be "even more omnipresent and persistent in their coverage of a president than they were of a candidate."
USC Student Body President Michael Parks also maintained that polling data is not always a definitive marker. He says that if one would have told him of a Trump victory in the beginning of the day, he would have thought chances were slim.
"This is a night ... that the American people are going to remember for a long time, and that college students are going to remember for a long, long time," Parks said.
What struck Parks about the election was its lasting effects on his generation — particularly college students — of Americans. He went on to commend voting students on getting out and participating in the election.
"There's people today who feel like winners, and there are people who feel like they're not winners. But when everyone votes, you're a winner — at least in our civic society, in my opinion," Parks said. "And I think that's important for everybody to remember. Getting out to vote is about the most important thing you can do as an American and especially as a college student."
Having gone through his own campaign process to become the student body president, Parks saw the dueling campaigns of Trump and Clinton as a "nasty" one. He also thinks that young people are rather exhausted after those campaigns have dominated their conversations for over a year.
Still, as the head of Student Government, Parks contended that the election is a hot topic in his environment. He encourages people to respect each other's views and opinions in that regard.
"At the end of the day, America is awesome because you can have your own opinion," Parks said, "and being a college student is awesome because you're in such a laboratory of thought development and personal development that you can express those freely, but it's also important to be respectful of others."
Political science professor Robert Oldendick weighed in on the aftermath of the election as well.
In the wake of a result that has some of those on losing side shaken, Oldendick hopes that people keep in mind that the U.S. has a system of checks and balances that is unlikely to allow a president to override legislature.
"There's an opportunity for maybe getting some policies through, but also the continued need to compromise," Oldendick said.
Oldendick described Trump's candidacy as "unique," pointing to his lack of governmental experience and popularity as a television personality. He also maintained that Trump entered the race at a critical time — one wherein he can tap into the "dissatisfaction" of those who feel that they have not prospered under a Democratic administration.
Parks accepts the election results as something that, while it may not permeate conversations in his own office as much as before, is an important topic. While the election is "the elephant in the room in any room," he emphasized that "as a Carolina community, we need to be sure that we support one another."