Like the rest of the country, Bucks students were fairly evenly divided about whether the re-election of President Barack Obama was for the best.
A small, unscientific sampling of some 20 Bucks students found that 57 percent chose Obama, to 43 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
This mirrored fairly closely  the results for Pennsylvania, which saw Obama gain an early advantage, winning the state 52 percent to 46 percent, despite Romney’s last-minute campaign stop in  Bucks County last Sunday.
Morgan Ballard, 19, of Penndel, is a biology major who  voted for Obama.  “I’m happy about how he passed the fair pay act, how he is interested in expanding science and technology in education, and that he’s keeping the government out of my “lady” business!”
Jo Kelly, 22, of Newtown, was one of those 48 percent voted for former Gov. Mitt Romney, in part because “Obama promised a new change, but didn’t move forward enough.”
Several other Romney supporters voiced many of the same concerns, citing the state of the economy, the looming deficit and the current employment levels as issues that will be challenging for Obama in his second term.
While some general remarks of “Obama did not do enough” were common, Dima Kovbasiuk, 19, from Mercer County, N.J., feels that Obama’s largest challenges are still to come.
“He’s certainly going to have a tough time passing new laws through Congress, since the Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives, “ Kovbasiuk said.
Bryan Rodriguez, 18, of Warminster, is currently a political science major.  He felt Obama didn’t deserve a second term, due in part to what occurred in Benghazi, Libya recently.
Referring to the attack on the U.S. Consulate that claimed the lives of four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Rodriguez said, “I don’t think he handled that well, the cover-up, and we need better leadership qualities in our president.”
Other Bucks students had a different perspective, citing bipartisan quarrels that hindered Obama in his first term right from the onset.
Charlie Dougherty, 18, of Southampton, said, “The economy wasn’t just Obama’s fault.  It was difficult to get things done, the House limited the president’s power, and that’s unfortunately very likely to continue.”
A Bucks student who did not actually vote in this election, for very specific reasons, offered several interesting perspectives.
Kim Sao, 19, is originally from Cambodia, and currently resides in Chalfont as she studies at Bucks to enter the field of biotechnology.  She could not vote in this election, but said, “Education is very important.  I couldn’t get this education, and others are much less privileged in other countries.”
Immigrants, and more specifically, children of immigrants are entering U.S. school systems, and many experts argue this lynchpin issue hindered Romney’s popularity among what has become the largest growing voting block in the U.S.
Currently, more than 10 percent of the voting power in the U.S. comes from Latinos.  It was just one of the many reasons why Obama, who favors keeping America’s foundation strong through diversity, won his bid for re-election.
CBS News anchorman Scott Pelley, meanwhile, pointed to Obama saving the auto industry in Ohio as a key to his victory in the highly contested state.
Romney’s last-minute bid to win the state gained national attention, as his largely misleading comments about Jeep outsourcing manufacturing jobs to China were continually debunked and may have hurt more than helped his chances.
In Ohio, voters were polled about which candidate “cared most about them” and their well being; 84 percent chose Obama, to just 15 percent for Romney.
Historically, Ohio has played a major role in many Republican presidential victories.  In fact, Tom Brokaw of NBC News reported that no Republican candidate has ever won the presidency without carrying Ohio.
In a race that came down to the wire in many battleground states, including N.C., Va., Fla. and – of course – Ohio, the president did enough to win in two of the states that mattered most.
Obama won in Ohio and Virginia, with Romney taking North Carolina. Florida was a virtual tie for much of Election Day, and appeared too close to call even the day after, reminiscent perhaps of the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
Mere minutes after CNN reported his victory, President Obama, showing a sign of the times, tweeted:  “We’re all in this together…”
It’s probable that Democrats  hope that Republicans in the House of Representatives heard this, and took it as the olive branch that Obama had repeatedly tried to offer during his first term.
Romney did not concede defeat until 12:42 a.m., reportedly calling the president with congratulatory well- wishes after Virginia went for the president, ending all doubt that Obama had won.
In other important congressional battles, the Republicans maintained their grip on the House, while the Democrats retained control of the Senate.
That means divided government, if not political gridlock, is likely to continue.
But with 30 out of 50 state governors also being Republican, the president has his work cut out for him, and only time will tell what challenges will arise.
Other interesting statistics that point to the wide rift between Obama and Romney include the 63 percent of young voters and 55 percent of women voters that chose Obama.
The election also proved to be the most historically expensive campaign, with both candidates topping $1 billion spent on the campaign trail.
Additional monies spent on congressional campaigns – as well as vast amounts funneled through super PACs – bring the estimated total amount spent this election year to over $6 billion.
To be sure, Obama cleared the most important hurdle, namely, winning the election.  And just as certainly, the road forward into America’s near future will be treacherous at times, with many potential pitfalls, but one that will hopefully get us to our destination.