In a historic election, Republican nominee Donald Trump won the presidential election over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
As of 11:53 p.m., Trump won 288 of the electoral votes, according to CNN.
Cal State Long Beach students watched from the Nugget and the University Library as the former businessman racked up wins in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio.
Originally, Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta, announced that Clinton would not be conceding the election until all votes were counted and the election had been called.
Once Trump won the battleground state of Wisconsin, CNN reported that Clinton called him around midnight to concede the election.
Shortly after, Trump delivered a victory from his campaign headquarters in Manhattan, NY, just two miles from Clinton’s headquarters.
During his speech, Trump thanked Clinton for her years of public services and congratulated her on her campaign. He thanked his family, supporters and political proponents
While Trump is now president elect, many CSULB students expressed their frustration with his campaign and future administration.
“I don’t like the antics that Trump has,” junior mathematics major Laniece Whitefield said. “I believe that we need someone who respects women.”
Sophomore business major Joana Elias said that Trump’s anticipated victory is a step backwards.
“I feel like we took 50 steps back… I feel like it says more about the country as a whole in terms of how they feel about minorities, about females, about bigotry,” she said. “I voted for Clinton just because voting for a third party serves no purpose.”
Others were just happy for this election cycle to be over.
“I don’t like either candidate and I really hate how it has created this riff,” said Alex Herskovich, a graduate psychology student. “People can’t accept each other’s opinion and free speech, we need to be tolerant to people who are different than us and think different than us.”
Magbis Escarcega, a sophomore majoring in fine arts, said that Trump’s demeanor helped him win, while simultaneously getting more people to participate in the election.
“Although I am not in favor of Trump, I do applaud his audacity and because he has gotten so much uproar for the election he has gotten more people involved in politics – especially the younger demographic,” Escarcega said. “I think it has been one really great political awakening in general.”
Both Herskovich and Escarcega agreed that they are just happy the election is over.
“I am so happy it’s over because this entire thing has been one big mess,” Escarcega said. “This is the first presidential election where I can vote and I am kind of disappointed in the system.”
Trump will be sworn in as president Jan. 20, 2017 in Washington D.C.
Meghan McGillicuddy, Saul Torres and Amber Costa contributed to the article.