One week after election night, the Ohio University College Democrats gathered in Baker Center to discuss the future of the party. Some still had Hillary Clinton buttons on their backpacks. Others were attending an OUCD meeting for the first time.
Despite some laughter and joking before the meeting started, things became more serious when Sam Miller, the president of the club, asked attendees to describe how they felt about the election in one word.
Frightened, several people said. Disturbed. Frustrated. Angry. Heartbroken. Distraught. Others said they felt determined, motivated, undaunted.
"It has been rough," Miller said after the meeting. "But there is a lot of energy going forward."
Tuesday's OUCD meeting was indicative of the situation the national Democratic Party currently finds itself in. Miller said she saw a lot of new people at the meeting, and many of the attendees were enthusiastic participants in the discussion. But there was disagreement over what the party's direction should be and where the blame should be placed for the failure on election night.
One example was the discussion about Clinton. Some, like sophomore history major Neil Ryan, believed Clinton lost due to unfair criticism.
"If she were a man, she would not have been so criticized," Ryan, who was still wearing a Clinton campaign button, said.
But others believed she was a weak candidate, and the election's low turnout made it evident she did not generate enough excitement. One member said Clinton was better than a white supremacist, but that "was a low bar to clear."
The group also discussed what the party could have done differently, with some suggesting the Democrats must reach out to rural voters. Miller said afterward she believed the College Democrats did all they could.
"We knocked on doors here in Athens and in other parts of the state, we made phone calls, we registered students. In my eyes, the College Democrats did all they possibly could. I just don't know if the rest of the state did."
Athens County was one of just seven counties in Ohio that went for Clinton. Trump won the popular vote in the state with almost 2,772,000 votes — more than Clinton (who won 2,317,001 votes) and the third-party candidates combined.
John Haseley, the chair for the county Democratic Party, likewise felt that party volunteers had done all they could do. He said Trump's victory was due to the frustration of voters.
"There are folks who are unhappy with the circumstances of our region and are wanting change," he said. "I think that what a lot of people don’t realize is that we are having a hard time in our area largely because of the policies of our state. Columbus has turned its back on Athens County and our region."
The Republicans also control the statehouse in Columbus, and both of Athens' representatives in the Senate and House flipped from Democrat to Republican, even though in both races Athens County went Democrat.
"It's been very difficult, not just for me, but for Democrats throughout Ohio," College Democrats Vice President Zach Reizes said of the results. "We lost very badly, and it was unexpected, it was difficult to accept. I think we’re all still recovering, and we’re all still a little bit shell-shocked."
Haseley said the first thing the Athens Democrats would do is reach out to disaffected voters and see how the party could win their support.
"We need to have conversation and open dialogue with those who sympathize with our party, find out why they weren’t with Clinton and work hard to have them as part of our efforts," Haseley said.
For both Haseley and some of the College Democrats, the failure on election night offered an opportunity for the party to expand its efforts.
"Many more young people are inspired to take a role in national and local politics," Reizes said. "It came at a high cost, maybe too high a cost, but we’ll be better going forward."
