FSU News

Garnet and gold goes red and blue

By: Alicia Adams

Posted: 11/6/08

In preparation for this week's election, the Florida State University community was involved in a number of events.

The colony of Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc. along with the Hispanic/Latino Student Union held an event called "Impacto" to discuss the impact of Latino votes. FSU's Student Government Association Student Resource center and the FSU Vote Coalition held a celebratory event in honor of FSU's participation in the election on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

In addition, CBS News along with FSU President T.K. Wetherell held an election results viewing party in the President's Box at Doak Campbell Stadium for the FSU community to watch as Barack Obama was elected the next President of the United States.

"Impacto" was held on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Claude Pepper Center. The event was held to inform Latino voters on the impact they could have during the election.

"Within the last four years, our demographic has grown, and we wanted to hold this event to inform the Latino population here at FSU," said Angel Valladares, president of the FSU Colony of Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc. "A lot of the events that have been occurring have been directed to mainstream voters, but we were interested in situations that focused on Latinos and our votes."

Although it was directed to the Latino population, everyone concerned with the election was welcome to attend.

"The event was tailored to anyone who was interested in the election," Valladares said. "Both candidates were represented, and while it focused on Latino issues, other issues were covered to inform people before they voted in general."

FSU's SGA Student Resource Center and the FSU Vote Coalition held "Rock the Vote Celebration 2008" on Tuesday, Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Union Green to celebrate the FSU community's involvement in the 2008 election.

"It was a celebration for voters," said Adner Marcelin, coordinator of FSU's Student Resource Center. "We just wanted to do something to show that we appreciated them for getting involved with campaign efforts and for just going out to vote."

On the evening of the election, CBS News broadcasted live from FSU in periodic segments during their election coverage.

Students, faculty and staff were invited to attend the election viewing party to watch as the election unfolded. FSU was chosen along with Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

"I can speculate that CBS chose Florida State and Ohio State because they are both swing states," said Browning Brooks, director of news and public affairs at FSU. "The races are tight in those states, and they are both public universities. A main reason that they would be interested in interviewing college students, especially at FSU, is because they were very involved during the election process."

Wetherell and FSU Student Body President Laymon Hicks had planned on holding an election viewing party at the stadium to show FSU's support for the election at the time of CBS's request.

"The president wanted to do this for students, faculty and staff because he is very proud of the students being so involved," Brooks said. "He wanted to do this as a nice thing to watch the election results together. Basically, we just wanted to do this because the students have, been such good citizens and we wanted to show them that the administration supports them."

This election was the first in which many FSU students were able to vote and get truly involved.

"This is my first election that I can vote in so I am quite excited and anxious to see the results," said FSU junior Alyssa Rodriguez. "It's going to be a close one."

While waiting to see the results, many students were worried about the outcome of the race.

"I will be very upset if Obama wins," said FSU freshman Hannah Volz. "I don't feel like he represents America well, and his views are way too left for me."

Although the majority of the crowd was filled with Obama supporters, there were McCain supporters among them who waited to see the results.

"I'm proud to say that I'm one of the few who voted for McCain at FSU," said FSU freshman Ben Gauntlett.

After the announcement of Obama's win, the stadium was filled with mixed emotions; however, the bulk of the crowd was happy with the result.

"I am confident that Obama will lead the country in a better direction," Rodriguez said. "He had it right when he said our country needs change."

Other students were not sure what to think after the announcement.

"I just don't know what to think about Obama," said FSU senior Erin Brennan. "I am not anti-Obama per se, however, it is hard to see where he stands on policies and issues."

Many students are excited to see what Obama will do to try to improve the U.S.'s current stance.

"I think Obama will bring great leadership to our country, boost the economy and give U.S. citizens a new sense of hope," said FSU junior Alex West.

Others are afraid that his ideas are too extreme for the country.

"I'm extremely nervous because I don't want this great nation to turn into a socialist society," said FSU freshman Rob Cuba.

On the other hand, some students think his policies are just what the U.S. needs.

"I feel that his policies will lead this country in the right direction in everything from the war to healthcare," said FSU junior Amanda Freeman.

At the end of the night, some students were just not satisfied, but they were still able to come to terms with the decision.

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