The Symbolic White House

Surprisingly, the results of the presidential election were a complete blowout. I never would have guessed that the battle for this presidency would come to such a clear-cut victory. After reading several articles analyzing the voter turnout for this specific election, I was thrilled to hear that the vote of young adults like me (18-29) really had a drastic impact on the outcome. Specifically, two of the swing states, North Carolina and Indiana, were won by slim margins, and in both cases, the young vote was strong and significantly supported the Obama campaign

However, the impact of the youth involvement in the election really hit me on Tuesday night. Having repeatedly checked the electoral results while at the library, I returned home to find that there was great celebration on State Street. Although the Halloween festivities of the previous weekend brought noise and commotion to the area around my house, the impact of Barack’s victory far surpassed the charades of the previous nights. Soon, my roommate and I ventured out to join in the celebration. Apparently, I missed some of the most rowdy and impressive proclamations of merriment, but it was still quite the scene to see when I joined.

Immediately, I ran into one of my best friends, and we found ourselves running to catch up to the mob and to put ourselves in the center of all of the commotion. It did not matter, McCain or Obama supporter; the impact of the peaceful festivity was profound. The group moved from State Street to the top of Bascom Hill where students and other community members alike joined in on chants. “Yes, we can.” “Show me what democracy looks like…this is what democracy looks like.” “Si, se puede.” “Oooooooooo.” “Varsity…” Once again, the crowd began to move, and it was as if everyone was united on the next step to take. There was a march to the capital with celebrating patrons coming out of the State Street bars to cheer on the parade of people.

Then, we were on the steps of the capitol. Flashes were going off all around as people stood united with the lit capitol building behind us. For me, the night ended by saying good night to all of my friends who I ran into throughout the celebration. As I left, others continued to celebrate. The scene was completely surreal: a completely diverse group of students arm-in-arm rejoicing for a new era of this country in front of the symbolic white house.