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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

The past few days have forced me to think about respect. I am a senior political science major, so I am constantly thinking about what my future will look like. I have been looking at possible jobs I could have. 

Now though, I am thinking about whether I will be respected in those jobs. Our country decided that a convicted felon was better than a woman for president. Women lost seats in both the Senate and the House. Women went from record breaking numbers to losing representation. 

The election showed that men do not have respect for women in politics. They do not believe that women are qualified enough for these positions.

This has made me wonder if I will be respected wherever I end up. I knew I would be going into a male dominated field when I first decided that I wanted to study political science. However, I figured that as women’s representation went up, the more respect for women in politics would be. 

I went into political science because I wanted to make a difference in the world. How can I do that if my male colleagues do not respect me? How can women ever be truly equal if we are not respected?

This has made me reevaluate what I want to do. I will not lie and say that I was not completely devastated and defeated when I saw the election results. Part of me wondered if it was pointless to keep trying because things are only going to get worse come the inauguration in January. 

However, I realized that if we give up, there will never be the change we desperately need. I am still going into politics, but I have been looking at groups that fight women’s rights, whether that be something like reproductive rights, or groups that try and get women into elected positions. 

Just because we lost this battle does not mean that we lost the war. We will have the chance to make a change in the 2026 midterms in two years, and then the 2028 election in four years. Until then we have to continue our fight for representation and respect in the political world. 

Vice President Harris’s concession speech had a similar message. Harris said “The important thing is don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. You have power. You have power.” We need to listen to Harris and keep fighting.

Stephanie is a new member of St. Bonaventure's Her Campus. She plans to write about politics, music, pop culture, college and life in general. Stephanie is a senior political science major and a communication minor. She is also the SBU College Democrats Student Government Representative, Vice President of the SBU Fitness Club, and a member of the SBU Dance Team. In her free time, Stephanie likes to hang with her friends, watch The West Wing, listen to her favorite artists which include Niall Horan, Taylor Swift, and Isak Danielson, and walk with her mom and dog. Stephanie can frequently be found with an Iced Matcha Latte in her hand.