As election returns came in, student reaction across campus was anxious, frustrated and occasionally jubilant.
Students eating at Josiah's on Tuesday night kept an eye on the three television screens broadcasting election returns CNN, NBC and CBS. Most students glanced at the screens while eating with friends. Many crowded around the sets as analysts showed the county-by-county breakdown in states such as Ohio and Florida. Students started paying more attention to the screens as the evening continued and the states were projected.
Free popcorn and Election Day decorations made the experience at Jo's more festive, but the festive atmosphere never became celebratory. As the evening progressed, the mood shifted from impatient and pensive to worried and frustrated.
Even before Bush's lead became decisive, angst started to fill conversations at Jo's.
"I started out more optimistic, but now I am a little nervous," said Katherine Pecore '08.
And as Bush continued to gain electoral votes, students expressed disappointment.
"I feel like the wind is knocked out of me," said Ryan Tierney '05, who watched the election coverage from his Vartan Gregorian Quad suite.
Daniel Fombonne '07 shared the sentiment, calling the election results "pathetic."
Other students expressed frustration at the ineffectiveness of John Kerry's campaign.
"I feel let down by him," Tierney said. He added that Kerry should have done a better job of conveying his stance on the war on terror and other key issues.
Many students were pessimistic about the future of the country. "I am really scared, because there has been bad damage. But it could get so much worse," said Rachel Golub '05. She expressed particular concern that the United States' reputation in the world, already damaged by Bush's foreign policy, would only get worse.
"America has to take a good look at itself," Fombonne said.
Not everyone was disappointed. Shortly after NBC called Ohio for Bush, one student shouted from his Chapin House window, "Viva la Bush!"
"Viva la (expletive)," a passerby on Thayer Street shouted back.
