December 2004

The Highs and Lows of Election Night 2004

Several thousand GW students attended election night results parties at the Marvin Center and the Mount Vernon Campus Pub and Grill Nov. 2, to watch the returns roll in for one of the most contentious elections with the highest voter participation in 36 years — with turnouts topping 114 million, 72 percent of registered voters.

A steady stream of students poured in and out of the Republican and Democratic party rooms in the Marvin Center’s Grand and Continental ballrooms respectively, while civil unions of bipartisan supporters watched from the Hippodrome and the Pub into the early hours of the morning as states went red or blue.

“There seems to be more of a sense of urgency surrounding this election,” said Program Board Political Affairs Chair Dan Secatore, a sophomore history major from Massachusetts voting in his first election. “Four years ago a lot of people learned that their vote actually does count. Also the war in Iraq has sparked a lot of interest in the campaign, no matter which side of the issue you’re on.”

“This school is probably pretty unique,” adds Secatore. “Students here are very politically active, that’s why they choose GW, because of its location in Washington, DC, and as a result students are fairly evenly split [between Kerry and Bush].”

On a night marked by sharp contrasts between party supporters, one sentiment crossed party lines — it’s better to vote absentee than it is to register in the District.

“The District will go Democrat either way,” said Blake Ehrlich, a junior journalism major in the School of Media and Public Affairs from New Jersey. “It’s nice to know, at least congressionally speaking, that your vote has an impact.”

“My reason for voting absentee probably is the same as a lot of people,” said Jeff Holth, a junior in the Columbian College of Arts and Science from North Dakota, “We all still have roots in our home states. I know if I vote in my home state, I’m voting with the winning side, but if I vote here in the District my vote won’t count.”

Earlier in the day the campus launched the festivities featuring a petting zoo with a donkey, a ketchup eating contest and a partisan car bash in Kogan Plaza. By the early evening students in the Democrats’ “Blue Room” enjoyed food and fun sitting for caricature artists and squaring-off in a partisan jousting ring. GOP faithful visiting the Republican’s “Red Room” grooved to a Texas swing band and tried their hand at bull riding.

The evening was marked as much by high anxiety as high spirits, as students weighed the significance of each state’s announcement.

“This election is incredibly important,” said Jeffrey Parker, sophomore in CCAS from Winston Salem, NC. “I think another term under a Bush administration will be disastrous. I believe that most Americans agree with Democratic values such as a quality opportunity for everyone and a sound educational system.”

Gina Lee, sophomore in the Elliott School of International Affairs, agreed that there was much at stake in this election. Although the Korean national who lives in Hong Kong wasn’t eligible to vote, she felt reelecting the president was particularly important with so many potential Supreme Court seats up for grabs.

“President Bush is against abortion,” explained Lee. “That’s a big issue for me.”

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu

Related Link

America Votes 2004