On Wednesday, November 9, 2016, Parker held classes but also held group therapy sessions. Throughout the halls, students, teachers, and parents were crying, embracing and looking as if they hadn’t gotten a minute of the sleep the night before.

“Students collectively mourned the results of the election,” senior Grayson Garelick said. “Tears could be seen in each hallway, and even teachers seemed a little shook that day.” Many classes were canceled. Every minute, two friends would find each other for the first time that day and hug each other, stronger than most Wednesday mornings.

The school stopped. “After the 2016 election, the environment at school was pretty somber and sad,” senior Annette Njei said. The normally lively halls of the school had been rained on.

In 2016, Donald Trump won the Presidential election, and Republicans took control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. These results were seen as a surprise, as most polls suggested the results would be different. A common misconception is that the polls were wrong. They were not. However, they did favor Hillary Clinton and the Democrats.

This only added to the shock factor. “It was just so surprising,” freshman Eli Moog said. “No one really saw it coming, and so people were rattled.” For the past two years, the topic of polling generated a great debate. Some people trust polls and understand the margin of error. Others blame the polls for the 2016 outcome.

This year was different. The night went similarly as predicted. The Democrats currently have gained 37 seats in the house, and Republicans have gained two seats in the Senate. Additionally, a few governor’s mansions were flipped, like in Illinois, where Democrat JB Pritzker unseated incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.

Following this year’s midterm elections, the mood throughout the school was different compared to 2016. No one was crying in the hallways. No teachers were canceling class to talk about their emotions. The community just went on as with any other day. “Everyone was super happy, no one was crying like in 2016,” Moog said. “It just wasn’t much different from a normal day.” School continued as usual.

Few would argue that the Parker community leans right, so the drastic difference between these two days at school is not especially surprising. “This year, I personally didn’t notice a change in terms of the environment at school,” Njei said, “but I know that some students were really happy about the outcome.” Around the building, people were having conversations about the election, which, for the most part, were positive. The negative comments were generally about the Senate, as people chattering were more pleased with the outcome of the House.

The school stepped in heavily following the 2016 election, from class cancellations to watching Hillary Clinton’s concession speech to student government initiatives aimed at expressing the fears of the coming administration. Less was said this time around. Spirits were expected to be higher from everyone.

However, the tense partisanship around the building leaves a few openly conservative students in the limelight in political situations, such as the days following big elections. “I was surprised when people came up to me in 2016 to congratulate me about the election when I didn’t have a horse in the race,” Garelick said. Garelick first made his political opinions known to the school when he challenged former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on taxes during a Morning Ex. When every person in the school takes a single side, and a couple differ away, it creates a highly divisive culture where not every voice is heard.

Parker looked much different the Wednesday following the 2016 election than the one following this year’s elections. The Democrats’ success influenced the mood of the school. There may have been a blue wave, but Parker’s blue wave of tears was left in 2016. At least for now.