Election inspires hope, excitement in Vassar student body

On Tuesday Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States of America, along with Vice President Joe Biden.

Vassar alumnus Jonathan Smith '07 was defeated in his  congressional bid by Republican Joel Miller, while Vassar's 19 District re-elected Democrat John Hall to the House of Representatives. Democrats now lead Republicans in the House 254 to 137, and in the Senate 56 to 40.

Several dorm house teams, including those in Strong and Cushing Houses, hosted election results parties, providing refreshments to their residents and tuning their TVs to major news networks.

Hundreds of students crowded into UpCDC on Tuesday night to watch the election results. The Vassar College Democrats hosted the UpCDC results party, and screened MSNBC election coverage on a large projection screen.

Red and blue streamers adorned the railings of the UpCDC mezzanine, while a map of the United States sat on a chair at the front of the room. As election results came in students colored in each state with either a red or a blue marker.

Dozens of students typed away on their laptops, checking various news sources for up-to-date coverage of the election and sometimes working on homework in less active moments.

Because the students following the election in UpCDC were largely supporting Obama, they cheered frequently as news poured in. They became more and more prone to applause as the night wore on.

When it became clear that Obama had won the election as the polls in California closed, students took to shouting the Obama catchphrase "Yes we can."
When Obama took the stage to deliver his acceptance speech, a chorus of "USA" erupted in the UpCDC audience to the surprise of some students. "It's such an atypical crowd to be shouting, ‘USA,'" said Michael Mestitz '12.

Vice President of the Vassar College Democrats Brian Hamm '09 said that Obama's win "allows for a lot of positive things to be done." He cited responsible troop withdrawal, health care and the economy as issues that he hopes Obama will tackle. Indeed, the economy was the most frequently cited reason for choosing a candidate across the nation.
"Now we get to try to get the government to do good things," said Hamm. "[There are] just so many things wrong with the country."

Hamm also hopes to continue political dialogue on campus, and to talk to students with minority political perspectives in order to "give them an opportunity to discuss these issues."

Meanwhile, as the Vassar Democrats hosted their event in UpCDC, several members of the Moderate Independent Conservative Alliance (MICA) hosted their own results party.
Vice President of MICA Steven McCarthy '10 watched the results in the Terrace Apartments.

"We're watching a little bit of FOX and a bit of CNN," he explained over the phone on election night.

Though the election did not turn out the way that McCarthy had hoped, he was happy with the overall election season. "Vassar has a lot to be proud of," said McCarthy in regard to the discussion on campus leading up to the election. "I think that dialogue will continue."
Chair of the MICA Vassar Students for McCain Subcomittee Kelly Shortridge '12  watched the results off campus with friends.  "It's going to be interesting to see how activism carries over into an Obama presidency," she said.

Shortridge noted a sense of disillusionment that might arise if change doesn't happen in the way that Vassar students imagine it will, but expressed the desire to  work on continuing political debate on campus.

"Hopefully the campus will become more bipartisan," she said.

Though discussion across the country has been heated in recent years, the race between Obama and Senator John McCain was far less contentious than the previous two elections, with Obama winning the key swing states of Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania early in the night.

But with the nation's current poor economy and wars overseas Obama will face many challenges when he takes office in January 2009.

His policies will soon influence Vassar students, as he promises to extend health care coverage, withdraw troops from Iraq and improve education. 

Obama has proposed a tax credit for college students, which will allow students who perform 100 hours of community service to collect $4,000 toward their tuition. It is unclear whether or not this measure will take effect in our current financial state, but it forms a key part of Obama's education policy.

Obama has also proposed getting rid of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and instead allowing tax forms to determine financial aid awards. 

Obama did not mention his policy plans in his acceptance speech but he spoke of reaching out to all Americans, even mentioning gay Americans, despite the fact that he does not support same-sex marriage.

The issue of gay rights also made headlines on Tuesday, as residents of California voted on Poposition 8, a proposal to add an amendment to the state constitution hat makes gay marriage illegal. This proposition is intended to overturn the state Supreme Court ruling that gay marriage is constitutional. Several prominent celebrities vocally opposed Proposition 8, including recently married Ellen DeGeneres. Other community members across California supported the measure.

But the big news on Tuesday night was  Obama's election, which students celebrated well into the night.

Long before joining in the festivities, many students took shuttles into Poughkeepsie to vote in a general election for the first time in their lives.

This election season saw many national firsts, as well. Obama is the first African American nominated by a major party, while vice presidential contender Governor Sarah Palin was the first female big-ticket Republican nominee.

Overall, students all over campus, whatever their political affiliations, were pleased to participate in the political process.