College Democrats
Quick. Sweet. Easy.
So it was on election night for Tony Kaminski, vice president of the College Democrats at the University, as he watched the event at the Lane County Democrats’ watch party at the Lane Events Center.
Kaminski, a political science major, has been waist-deep in politics since he was a teenager. At 16, in his home county in Southern California, he ran Howard Dean’s campaign. At 21, he voted in his first presidential election.
The watch party at the events center began as a relaxed event, overflowing with parents and their babies in strollers, older voters, elementary school kids, college students and Democratic candidates such as Kitty Piercy and Rob Handy.

Kaminski arrived happy. He’d watched much of the daytime election coverage at a friend’s house and seemed mentally prepared for a Barack Obama victory.
He settled in and ate a taco salad, which he declared excellent and well worth the money. He chatted with friends, anticipating the Democratic victory they all eagerly felt approaching.
Nearing 7:50 p.m., the air around Kaminski began to vibrate with excitement. He bounced on the balls of his feet and fixed his gaze on the large screen televising CNN election coverage to the hundreds of excited watchers. Obama had 220 electoral votes already, Kaminski noted, and the West Coast – where polls closed at 8 p.m. – would give Obama enough to win.
A self-described “hit-or-miss Democrat,” Kaminski disagrees with the party on some issues. He’s socially moderate but leans pretty far left on economic issues.
Even if he isn’t a rank-and-file Democrat, Kaminski has been a solid Obama supporter since the primary elections in May. Originally, Kaminski liked Joe Biden and considers the Obama-Biden ticket a dream.
Shortly after 8 p.m., the networks predicted Washington, Oregon and California would go to Obama. The room full of serene Democrats, including Kaminski, exploded with ferocious clapping, cheering and tears flowing from mothers kissing their children. All three states went to Obama, giving him 73 more electoral votes and making him the president-elect.
Kaminski jumped up and down while whooping and waving his yellow baseball cap in the air. His normally reserved features melted into joy as he watched the CNN map light up with a completely blue West Coast.
The release of the Lane County votes in the Oregon election seemed almost like a let-down for Kaminski after the excitement of the presidential decision. He lit up when he saw Peter DeFazio’s victory in Congress, but hesitated to fully celebrate before all of the votes were counted.
He repeatedly checked his phone for an Internet update on Oregon’s election results, but to no avail. The mayoral race between Piercy and Jim Torrey was still tight, and most of the results hadn’t been counted for the entire state.
While Democrats around him cried with joy, and previously excited children collapsed into sleep on their parents’ shoulders, Kaminski decided the night had ended for him.
He retired home as the night waned to complete some homework and “sleep very soundly.”
Kaminski felt content and hopeful as he took one last look at president-elect Obama and the colorful map of America on the big screen.
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College Republicans
Aaron Polk, chair of the University’s chapter of College Republicans, tidies up his apartment, re-taping the McCain-Palin posters on his living room wall and in the main window. He carries two freshly baked pizzas straight from the oven to his coffee table by the couches. Two television sets glow with the constant images that connote politics: a U.S. map that lights up in red and blue as results pour in from the states.
Polk looks wary as he closely follows the election coverage Tuesday night.
The College Republicans gathered at Polk’s quaint apartment at 14th Avenue and Alder Street to witness history in the making. The minority of University students – conservatives in a largely liberal city – who attended the election viewing party greeted each other in the privacy of Polk’s safe refuge just a few blocks from campus.
College Republican Kenny Crabtree cleaned his house earlier to take his mind off the close competition. His phone rings off the hook as other members of the group call to say they will be running late.

Just after 6 p.m., University students Holly York and Jenna Perry arrive together, instantly contributing bubbling personality and passionate reactions to the mix. York announces that if Barack Obama wins, she will make “Not my president” T-shirts.
An active Republican on campus, York said she would be embarrassed to have Obama representing her in the election. She said that while Hillary Clinton clung to the dream of presidency until the bitter end and divided her party in the process, Republicans stood together as one unified team.
Although York said she disagrees with Obama’s policies, she doesn’t feel
John McCain is conservative enough to represent the right wing.
“McCain’s too moderate,” York said. “He didn’t express my views as a conservative Republican.”
York, who grew up in Canby, Ore., said she’s had a hard time at the University getting her points across when speaking in class. She emphasized the difficulty of being a strong-minded conservative living in a Democrat-dominated community. She added that she seeks comfort in meeting with her peers in the College Republicans.
Watching footage of Sarah Palin, Katherine Viale, a University student in the College Republicans, said she admired Palin for a job well done.
“I think for her background and her experience, she’s doing really well,” Viale said. “She’s definitely holding her own. I think she was a good pick for vice president, but I like (Mitt) Romney a lot, too.”
Viale and Crabtree said several members of the College Republicans had hoped McCain would choose Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and former presidential candidate.
During their weekly meetings on campus, the College Republicans debate prominent issues ranging from the smartest choice for vice president to California’s Proposition 8 that would ban same-sex marriage.
“People would be really surprised if they came to our meetings,” Crabtree said. He emphasized the varying degrees of conservatism within the group. He said one Democrat even attends meetings to offer his own input. While most of the group supports George W. Bush in his role as president, the students’ opinions differed when it came to McCain and Palin. Halfway through the evening, a bottle of Smirnoff emerges and the members chuckle as they suggest taking shots each time McCain wins a red state. It doesn’t last long, as the group ironically loses interest in drinking as it continues to watch the results.
After the 8 p.m. commercial break, the national and local television stations announce that America elected Obama as its 44th president. The group members sit in hushed silence, watching the scrolling news update in utter dismay.
As McCain takes the stage in his hometown of Phoenix, Ariz., the group members turn away from their side conservations to watch their candidate declare his defeat. The chatter dies down as Polk and his peers watch solemnly as history unveils.
“Though he’s not the candidate I prefer, it just goes to show how far this country’s come in terms of equality,” Polk said at the end of the night. “The American dream is possible, and Obama’s an example of that.”
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