Screaming and honking filled the Syracuse University campus Tuesday night when the news was announced – Sen. Barack Obama was elected as the next president of the United States.

Obama, 47, won in an Electoral College landslide with 349 electoral votes and 52 percent of the popular vote, compared to Sen. John McCain’s 163 electoral votes and 47 percent of the popular vote, according to Real Clear Politics. Obama will be America’s first black president.

‘I cried when it was announced,’ said Hannah Globus, a sophomore television, radio and film major. ‘I am so happy. I’ve been following him since the beginning. I am on cloud nine right now.’

Standing on the Quad, freshman Charles Schoening was still out of breath from running and screaming throughout campus. He had been in his dorm room in Haven Hall when he saw the news on television.

‘It was pretty calm at first,’ he said. ‘But then something came over me. I just went crazy.’

Globus and Schoening were among several hundred SU students who filled the Quad late Tuesday night celebrating the election results. Some students screamed. Others cried. Some danced. Dozens wore Obama T-shirts. Even more triumphantly waved signs in the air. Chants alternated between ‘Yes We Can,’ ‘Obama’ and ‘U-S-A.’

Near midnight, a large SUV drove into the mass of students, blasting Obama’s acceptance speech. The Quad became quiet as the crowd strained to hear the speech.

‘Change has come to America,’ the president-elect’s voice echoed through the stereo speakers, and the crowd burst into cheers.

Earlier in the night, campus had been much quieter. Several watching parties had minimal attendance. Many students said they chose to watch the results from their dorm rooms, but ran outside once Obama was projected the winner.

At the CitrusTV watching party in Watson Auditorium, junior Christina Levin, an Obama supporter, was one of the few watchers to wait around to hear Obama announced the winner.

‘This is so overwhelming,’ she said, close to tears. ‘I sort of expected it, but I didn’t want to jinx it. Right now, I am ecstatic.’

But Levin, who has dual citizenship with Ukraine, said that she was still worried something could go wrong, that the results didn’t yet feel real. About an hour later, while out on the Quad celebration, it was still sinking in for Levin. ‘I’m starting to believe it,’ she said. ‘I’m still in shock.’

Campus support for Obama was clear throughout the night and day. In addition to the Quad celebration, many students donned Obama shirts. And groups of students waved signs on various street corners throughout the day.

But not everyone on campus was jubilant with the election results.

CitrusTV watch party attendee Alexandra Parkinson voted for John McCain by absentee ballot in her home state of Massachusetts because she felt he was the more experienced candidate. ‘But I guess I wasn’t thrilled about either candidate,’ she said.

She said she wasn’t devastated by the loss. ‘I’m not that concerned yet,’ said Parkinson, a junior public relations major. ‘I know their policies, and I know what they stand for. But I don’t know what’s going to change, how it’s going to affect my life.’Junior Landon Stolar, a registered Democrat, also voted for John McCain, though he said he didn’t dislike either candidate.

‘I think he is the best man for the job right now,’ Stolar said, citing McCain’s foreign policy experience as the most important issue. ‘McCain’s experience speaks wonders to Obama’s,’ he added.

For many of the Republicans on campus, McCain’s declared loss in Pennsylvania early in the night was the beginning of the end.

Freshman Brian Mainardi was doing homework with friends in the E.S. Bird Library café while following the election on his laptop when Pennsylvania was declared around 8:45 p.m.

‘I’m a little disappointed. Pennsylvania just totally got destroyed by Obama,’ said Mainardi, an undeclared student in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. ‘That was pretty important.’

Members of the College Republicans were also disappointed with the loss of Pennsylvania, which they discussed while waiting for their ride to the Onondaga County Republican party celebration.

‘Pennsylvania is a pretty big disappointment,’ said John Margulies, a junior economics and political science major. ‘McCain spent so much time and energy there.’

Earlier, in the DellPlain Hall lounge, about a dozen residents gathered to watch the election results come in. Freshman Thai Bettistea sat working on her homework while watching the TV screen.

Bettistea went all the way home to the Bronx, N.Y., in order to vote for Obama. She went home with her mother after parent’s weekend and then took a bus back to campus after voting.

‘I went to vote in the city today at 6 a.m.,’ she said. ‘There were really long lines, but I wanted to actually do the real voting. It was worth it.’

Many students expressed their happiness that the youth-supported candidate had won.

‘I think more people feel like their voice counted,’ said Brianna Garcia, sophomore English and textual studies major. ‘I think youth voters have felt disenchanted that their vote didn’t count in the past. This time it did.’

Back on the Quad, the mood was equally jubilant. Sophomore Anthony Joseph silently viewed the pandemonium, placing his hands on his head with emotion.

‘This, he said, ‘is the beginning of a brand new era.’

mghicken@syr.edu

Published on November 4, 2008 at 12:00 pm