As I’m sure most of you are aware, yesterday, November 8, 2016, was the Presidential election in the United States. I am going to preface this article by asserting that although I am politically aware and engaged, I am not opinionated. Therefore, I do not wish for you to think that I am describing these events with any sort of bias.
Last night, Get Out the Vote (GOTV), along with Housing and Residential Life, the College Republicans, the College Democrats, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Butler Center hosted Election Day at the Rat, a free event for all students to sit back and watch the election results roll in. I was fortunate enough to be part of GOTV and witness this amazing event in its entire glory. The event began around 4pm and featured events like Pie a Politician, cutting out a facemask of your preferred candidate, and a photo booth with really adorable decorations. There were also reporters from ABC News and Telemundo interviewing students about their thoughts on the election. The Rat was also gracious enough to provide their famous chicken tenders, wings, and fried macaroni and cheese triangles to all in attendance. In essence, the inside of the Rat looked like Uncle Sam threw up patriotism. Once the results poured in, party affiliations were extremely noticeable.
Although there was obvious polarization between students, the event went by smoothly, and for the most part, students were respectful of each other’s points of view. The room was electric with both anxiety and excitement, and it didn’t look like anyone was going anywhere. When the clock struck 12, the Rat was forced to turn back into its Hurricane pumpkin, leaving students to check the final results on their own. Overall, GOTV and its partners were able to throw an amazing election party that allowed close to 2,000 students from all sides of the political spectrum to come together and watch our country move into a new political era. At the end of the day, we are all Miami Hurricanes regardless of who you wanted to win last night.