The 44th president, Barack Obama,  was re-elected for four more years when he beat Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential Election tonight, Tuesday, Nov. 6.

The electoral votes are still being tallied, but Obama secured at least 274 votes to win, according to CNN.

Many Niles West faculty and students said that they are pleased with the outcome.

“I’m exhilarated, but at the same time I kind of expected it. I’m looking forward to prove that [Obama] did make enough changes to positively affect the country,” said senior Vera Ratner.

“I’m happy. He’s going to give more back to the poor people and the middle class,” said junior Jakub Jamroz.

“[I am] obviously happy that Obama won and that some progressives like Elizabeth Warren will be in the Senate. I am glad that common sense prevailed and that Republican candidates who talked about ‘legitimate rape’ (Akin and Murdock) both lost. I don’t feel the same sense of joy and hope I did in 2008 (when I was in Grant Park) but a sense of relief and optimism for the next four years,” wrote social studies teacher Matt Wiemer in an email.

Some students, however, said they were hoping for a different outcome.

“I was disappointed,” said junior Mel Leftakes. “I really wanted some change. I’m not a die-hard Republican, but if Romney won I would have expected him to bring something new to the table.”

Overall, though, the liberal-leaning population at West expressed excitement.

“I’m happy that Obama is president, mostly because Obama is into women’s rights. I’m not into politics, though. The one thing I don’t like about Obama is how the war is going on in the Middle East. We really need to get out of there,” said sophomore Shayne Snyder.

For more opinions, check out our audio interviews:

Morgan Gstalter and Rebecca Yun contributed to this article.