Mills students gathered together on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 6 to hear the results of presidential election.
The student union was set up with tall red, white and blue tables with chips and dip. Some attendees donned American flag top-hats and red, white and blue leis. Those standing at the tables were nervously munching on salty snacks while awaiting the results.
C-SPAN showed the pending results that were projected onto a big white screen so that everyone could keep up with the election results as they rolled in. Students looked up at the screen, some with mouths wide open with anxiety.
Charity Walden, a senior rooting for Obama to be re-elected, felt the pressure build as polls closed on the east coast.
“I feel it’s going to be an extremely close election. It won’t be called until late. It’s crucial that President Obama wins. That’s where the anxiety is coming from,” she said.
For the majority of the night, Romney was up in the polls and California’s votes had not been counted yet. Time was winding down and the numbers on the screen continued to fluctuate.
Regardless of what was happening on the screen, the party was alive. When news sources called Barack Obama as the winner, people hugged and cried.
“I feel like we can do it. We’re not going to have to re-start. We can continue,” said Alexandra Shepperd, a sophomore. She felt that Obama was the right choice for what she perceives as progress in the country.
Erika Colstad, a sophomore, said that four years was not enough time to repair all the damage that has been done to the U.S.
“He needs more time,” she said.
