This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.
November 6 was a great night to be an American University student.
As the most politically active school in the nation, we are used to the frequent political rallies, petitions, awareness groups and organizations that cover the campus on any given day. On Election Day, however, all of this was taken to a whole new level.
Patriotic banners decorated the entire campus, along with a buzz of anxious excitement. And if you were looking for a place to watch the results unfold, you didn’t have to search hard to find it. There were countless places around campus that were live-streaming news stations. Letts Formal Lounge, Ward 2, The Perch, and Anderson were just a few of the places that you could watch the results. The Tavern even featured a large projector screen along with specialty sandwiches named after the candidates. A white board with tally marks on it recorded how many people bought each, holding a mini-election of sorts.
The biggest event on Election night was the open house held in the School of International Service, SIS. This was not only one of the biggest events ever held on campus; it was also the most attended. Projector screens covered the walls. Live music floated down from the open air balconies. Catered food was everywhere, including stuffed mushrooms, specialty desserts, soft pretzels, popcorn, fresh fruit, and all flavors of punches. And everything was completely free.
The event was so big that it even attracted the attention of the National News, who came with TV cameras in hand to capture it in whole.
And when the final results were called that Barack Obama would stay in office for a second term, red, white, and blue balloons were dropped from the ceiling, and the campus erupted into screams and cheers. Afterwards, students flocked to the White House to celebrate, chanting “Yes we can” and waving around American Flags.
“Election Day is like the Super Bowl for American University,” said Nicole Tanoue. “It was so amazing to be a part of this. It’s something I’m never going to forget.”