On Thursday, November 10, 2016, Stockton’s Democracy Cafe hosted a Post-Election election result forum and discussion. The event was open to any and all community events interested, including students, faculty, and members from around the local Galloway community. The panel was hosted by Professor Claire Abernathy of the political science department, who was both the main speaker and the moderator. The event also featured a collection of faculty members who specialized as advisors regarding economic, international affairs, and homeland security experts.

The panel opened with Professor Abernathy discussing the electoral college results, and how the voting came down to key matchups in Pennsylvania and Arizona. She then discussed the election results in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, followed by a discussion about how key voting demographics affected the results. Discussion focused on how not only the percents mattered, but also the voter turnout.

After the discussion on the voting results, Professor Abernathy turned to the audience with a variety of questions for them to answer. Students answered the questions, with a variety of different answers from the students in attendance. Finally, the panel ended with the opportunity for students to voice their opinions to the group. One student in particular gave a rather moving speech about his heritage as a son of Latino immigrants, and how this year’s election proved both disheartening and frightening to him.

As the panel concluded, Professor Abernathy handed out a civic service test for students to take home, and encouraged students to be the change they wanted to see in the world.