The loss of the presidential candidate John Kerry evoked a strong reaction on SF State Campus on Wednesday after the preliminary election results came in. Students’ feelings ranged from protesting to apocalyptic views and conspiracy theories.

“Oh shit, we’re all gonna die,” yelled some students in the student depot who watched MSNBC Wednesday morning news broadcast showing 51 to 48 percent votes leading Bush to victory.

Students in protest organized at least one walk out Wednesday cruising around campus, yelling “walk out, get Bush out,” trying to gain more support.
“Bush won. We don’t know what to do,” said one of the participants of the spontaneous protest.

Most students asked though were not surprised about the outcome of the elections.
“I knew Bush was going to win,” said Ming Zhang, 28, a business major student. He said that he as well as many Chinese people hold a believe that Bush was “meant to be.”

“There is something about him,” said Zhang. “He believes in what he does and he stands firmly on that. He was meant to make trouble in the Middle East that could lead to World War III. It’s not positive, but it’s true”. Chang also added that to his knowledge most of the Chinese community voted for Kerry. He himself voted for neither and picked an independent party candidate.

Bo Kim, a member of Korean Student Organization watched TV last night following the election coverage. “I was surprised to see that much red,” she said referring to the color of the republican states on the map compared to the blue color of the democrats. “I thought it was half and half,” she added.

Eddie Lee, 20, a member of Asian Student Union (ASU) on campus said he was not surprised. But he had a feeling Bush was going to win. But when he heard the news Wednesday morning his reaction was rejecting. “I was throwing up, ” he said, “I could not believe what was happening.” Lee said that a lot of parents are worried about their college-age children getting drafted.

Jerry Chan, 23, also a member of ASU, offered an explanation for the Bush’s victory. “Bush did a good job connecting to people especially colored communities,” said Chan. “It’s hard when you have two party system and people like me are still in the position where violence and poverty are the biggest issues. Whether it’s republican or democratic party, I’m still in the same place.” Chan said that’s how many people still think and feel powerless about their vote.

Another explanation offered by Omar Alcala, 18, a business major student, had to do with the origins of each presidential candidate in relation to the Midwest and the South, the main battlegrounds. Because Bush is from Texas, Alcala said, he could get the Southern States and the Midwest where Kerry who is from Massachusetts did not stand a chance.

Some students said that Bush was likely to win because he made a “lot of mess” in the Middle East and is a better candidate to clean it up than someone new.

Ellenor Li, 20, ASU member, said that she would like to see Bush to “finish what he started,” referring to the war on terror. “If Bush has a plan I want to see it executed.” Li and many other ASU members said they were suspicious about the integrity of the presidential elections. “I think it’s a conspiracy,” Li said. “He (Bush) paid to get those votes and his brother is the governor of Florida.”

Jaih Mcreynolds, a representative of the Associated Students Inc., said she was shocked to see the results. She said that when she watched the election on TV and saw only a few states mostly on the East and the West coast colored blue, she could not understand why. “I’m glad that California was one of the few states that supported Kerry, but the rest of the nation is not feeling the same way,” she said.

Mcreynolds offered an advice to all students to watch closely what happens in the future. “ We as the people should pay more attention to the policies and laws. We should take more action instead of letting people decide for us."