Hard to believe Election Day was already a week ago. I've never felt so much energy on Vassar's campus. So much pent up anxiety, excitement and youthful engagement exploded on one glorious November evening. But while everyone was glued to their televisions in their dorms, attending parties organized by professors and student groups, myself and my fellow editors were stuck in the Miscellany News office putting together the weekly paper.
Editors tend to be very politically engaged, so there was a certain sense of sadness when Production Night began that Tuesday. Would we miss all the excitement? Would we be forced to struggle with formatting instead of watching history unfold? Everyone knew they had to type away at their articles and put their heart into layout--in spite of the excitement outside our doors. I found myself refreshing CNN.com every few seconds for the latest results. Indeed, our own Web site included live blogging of elections results from the second floor of the Students' Building, where hundreds of students were merrily gathered in front of a large projector.
But then, around 10:45, we all gave in to temptation. As the final states were being called, we all huddled around a laptop to watch the results. Ohio. Pennsylvania. Virginia. Then, at 11:01, Wolf Blitzer called it - Barack Obama had won the presidency.
By 11:02, the information was on miscellanynews.com, and we stood cheering and hugging one another. Our paper had endorsed Mr. Obama in late October, and we were happy to know that the nation had agreed with our choice. Many editors stuck around to watch his victory speak in Grant Park streaming online. Trying to inconspicuously wipe away our teary eyes, we saw the 44th president address the nation in one of the most inspiring acceptances my generation has witnessed.
For the rest of our lives, we'll remember sitting in the Miscellany News office, recording student reactions and putting together our newspaper on that truly historic American night.
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