Students gathered in Cabot Auditorium last night hung on every news report from last night's presidential election, supplemented by power-point presentations and political commentary by a Tufts panel.
The Election Extravaganza ended with everyone still in the dark. "I don't think we'll know the results of this election until tomorrow morning," senior Adam Koeppel said.
The Experimental College presented the Extravaganza, which attracted students, professors and administrators. "It is obviously an extravaganza because we're here," senior Suzy Jabaily said.
The event lived up to its name. Students colored in states on an overhead projector after they were called and administrators offered a free T-shirt to whoever guessed the correct distribution of electoral votes.
While attendees cycled in and out of the auditorium throughout the night, a majority of seats remained empty. "I'm a little disappointed that Tufts didn't come out in full force," sophomore Douglas Kingman said. "It's not apathy; it's a desire to see the results in one's own way. It's not like a Sox game, where everyone has to congregate."
Many students said they attended the Extravaganza for the atmosphere. "I feel the people who come out here are more politically involved," freshman Aubrey Crowley said. "Plus, it's a party for the Democrats."
Crowley brought her homework into the auditorium. "I'm trying to study, but it's not working," she said.
The Extravaganza's crowd was highly partisan. "It's an interesting time because there's like one Republican in this room," Koeppel said.
Cheers erupted when New Jersey was called for Kerry and Barack Obama's U.S. Senate victory was announced. As the night progressed and emcee Howard Woolf asked what to do next, students shouted "Let's beat up some Republicans."
Cabot's main screen displayed coverage from the entire political spectrum, including segments of CNN, FOX, and The Daily Show. "Put on The Daily Show, it's smarter than O'Reilly," a student proclaimed.
The panel of Tufts experts included Professor Kent Portney and Dean James Glaser from the Department of Political Science, Molly Mead of the University College, Kingman representing Tufts Republicans, and Koeppel from the Tufts Democrats.
Panelists answered questions from attendees sporadically throughout the event. "They wanted us here to offer some perspective," Koeppel said. But Kingmad said "the panel didn't get to discuss the issues as much we wanted to."
Koeppel and Kingman stayed through the entire event. "The students don't have anything to do so they're still here," Koeppel said.
Students based their after-party plans on how the election was unfolding. "If Kerry's doing well, I might go into Copley," freshman Allison Kornstein said.
