 "Photo:")
After President-elect Barack Obama's victory speech ended on Election Night, two small separate groups of students set out on the streets to celebrate. These two groups, totaling approximately 15 people, intersected at Laird Campus and began an impromptu, campus-wide trek picking up more students throughout. The gathering, now referred to by organizers as the Midnight Obama March, spanned from Harrington and Gilbert to Rodney and Dickinson and at its height swelled to a head count of hundreds of students, all screaming, "Yes we can!" in unison.
Freshman Kyle Janisch, who began the march in one of the original groups and gave a number of short speeches along the way, said he was shocked by the number of students who became involved in the march.
"It was a complete surprise," Janisch said. "I remember during the way thinking, 'I can not believe this is happening.' We were expecting maybe 45 or 50 people but the numbers just kept growing and growing."
Freshman Julian Massiah, another member of the original cluster form Laird Campus, said students' willingness to join the march exemplified the fact they understood the gravity of the event that had occurred through Obama's victory
"People dropped what they were doing, poured out of buildings and joined up with us, whether or not they had an exam the next day," Massiah said. "Whatever they were doing, they just stopped and joined. They just said, 'Hey, we want to be a part of this too.' That means that they were able to realize what a historic event it was."
Junior Carolyn Cleveland said she believes the strong reaction across campus to Obama's win may have been intensified due to the long and exhausting campaign process.
"I think it was a result of so many weeks and months of worrying with all this pent-up tension thinking about our futures and the future of our country, so when the results were finally announced we were all just like, 'Let's take to the streets, let's start a parade,' " Cleveland said.
The atmosphere was enthusiastic and jubilant as attendees yelled the patriotic "USA" chant or screamed the President-elect's name repeatedly.
Alumnus Steve Fox, who also gave speeches to students during the march, said the gathering was particularly moving due to the sense of unity that existed among complete strangers.
"People were shaking hands and high fiving and I got at least 30 hugs from people I didn't know," Fox said.
Janisch said the students marching hailed from a wide and diverse range of ethnic backgrounds.
"I saw a lot of people who had 'Latinos for Obama' shirts on," he said. "There were whites and blacks. Everything. Everybody was there, and everybody was just unified for this historic moment."
Massiah said appreciation of Obama's victory was not limited to one race.
"It didn't only feel like a win for African Americans," he said. "It felt like a win for everybody. It was unifying. It wasn't just a moment for one side of the spectrum. It wasn't about that and I thought that was really powerful."
Junior Paul Ruiz, president of the College Democrats, said he was surprised by the overwhelming excitement students expressed.
"I couldn't believe it," Ruiz said. "Never in my life did I think there would be an Obama victory march like that on my campus."
Cleveland said the march caused her to realize that perhaps the university is not as politically uninformed and uninterested as some might suggest.
"As we were marching, we would nudge each other and be like 'Who's apathetic now?' " she said.
Senior Jill Vernon said events like the march help in discrediting unfair accusations directed toward her age group.
"I'm tired of people saying that we don't care and that we don't know anything about politics," Vernon said. "When we have 300 people walking through the streets screaming at 2 a.m. because they're excited about politics, it pretty much disproves everyone wrong who says we're an apathetic generation."
Fox said Election Day represented a turning point for his generation.
"I'll look back on that day and realize that was the day when we declared that we had a voice," he said. "So whether or not politics changed, maybe we all changed a little bit."
Freshman David Wessell said he is confident the memory of this event will resonate with him throughout his life.
"I was talking to my friend," Wessell said, "and I just looked at him and said, 'Dude, I don't think I'm ever going to forget this' and he said, 'I don't think any of us will ever forget it.' "
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our feed
Contact us through email
Be the first to comment on this article!