By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Saturday, November 9, 2024

Not all college students are turning to cookies and Legos to help them cope with Tuesday’s election outcome. Some are celebrating.

The University of Missouri’s Sigma Nu fraternity became a viral sensation for a video posted Wednesday showing more than 30 members dressed in suits and dancing outside the frat house in Columbia in front of a massive “Trump” banner.

“There was never any doubt. Kamala, you’re fired!” says the performance leader, doing his best impression of President-elect Donald Trump, red tie and all.

At that point, the students rock to the Village People’s 1978 disco hit “YMCA,” an oft-played song at Trump rallies, emulating his air-punching dance moves.

Some fraternity alumni were thrilled, posting comments on X such as “I’ve never been more proud to be a Sigma Nu.”

Another, probably not a Trump fan, posted, “Hey @SigmaNuHQ, I’m a Nu chapter alum, are you OK with the Sigma Nu name and one of our chapter houses being used to promote a political party? This is beneath the Legion of Honor.”

Regardless, the video drew 251,000 likes on X and around 800,000 on TikTok as of Saturday.

Luke Ricchetti, president of the UM chapter, emphasized that the performance was intended to reflect the views of the individual students, not the organization as a whole.

“The Rho Chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity always has and always will respect the rights of our members, our brothers, to have and express their own beliefs and viewpoints, political or otherwise,” he said in a statement.

At Auburn University in Alabama, hundreds of students gathered at Toomer’s Corner shortly after Mr. Trump was declared the winner to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

They chanted “USA!” and waved American and Trump campaign flags. Overnight, the trees on Toomer’s Corner were festooned with toilet paper, a tradition called rolling that occurs after victories, in this case presidential.

Auburn facilities management was on standby and began cleaning up the toilet paper Wednesday morning, according to The Auburn Plainsman student newspaper.

“Auburn students and local citizens have rolled Toomer’s Corner after presidential elections for Republican and Democratic presidents-elect going back to at least 1988,” said Auburn spokeswoman Jennifer Adams. “Campus Safety & Security reported that the people present last night were peaceful, chanted ’USA’ and sang the national anthem.”

In Arizona, hundreds of students at Grand Canyon University poured onto the sidewalks on the night of Mr. Trump’s victory, chanting “USA,” waving American flags and displaying Trump campaign banners, as shown on video.

“College students from Grand Canyon University celebrated Trump’s victory in the streets late last night,” said a post from the @TonyXTwo account. “AMERICA IS BACK BABY!!!!”

The pro-Trump festivities come with exit polls showing that the youngest voters, known as Generation Z or Gen Z, continued their rightward march.

Young men ages 18-29 supported Mr. Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris by 56% to 44%, a swing of 14% since the 2020 race, which saw Joseph R. Biden take that group with 56% versus then-President Trump’s 41%.

Women ages 18-29 gave Ms. Harris 58% of the vote, down from the 65% who supported Mr. Biden in 2020, according to AP exit-polling data analyzed by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

Colleges including Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and Michigan State University saw some professors cancel classes in response to Mr. Trump’s victory, while others provided comfort with coloring books, Legos, therapy dogs, rock painting, hot chocolate, and milk and cookies.

Those scoffing at such coddling included Hillsdale College in Michigan, a conservative Christian institution known for its emphasis on Western civilization and constitutional studies.

“We just held classes like usual,” said Hillsdale on X. “(There may have been some crayons offered to Hillsdale students — at our preschool.)”

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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