The Report Card

Belmont students have post-election wrap up discussion with political science professors

2008-11-13T09:40:34Z

On Tuesday night, Belmont students gathered in the Massey Business Center to hear two Belmont political science professors offer their opinions on how the election unfolded. Dr. Vaughn May and Dr. Nathan Griffith discussed topics ranging from the consequences of the candidates' vice presidential picks to the role that the media played in the election, and students were quick to offer up their own opinions and questions.

The event was well-attended, with some students even sitting on the floor to fit in the room.

"It was really interesting to hear what the political scientists had to say about how the campaigns were run, the vice presidential picks and what different choices each candidate could have made to make the election turn out differently," said senior Brenna Mader. "They also compared this election to past elections, which was slightly eerie because of how similar certain things were."

The post-election discussion was Belmont's last election-related event of the semester.

GW students among well-wishers at post-election message board

2008-11-11T23:58:34Z

By Zach Silber

Just days after Americans elected Barack Obama to be the 44th President, visitors to the National Mall were greeted with the chance to "talk" to their next leader.

A blank wall assembled at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial is intended to serve as a message board for well wishers to share thoughts of encouragement and congratulations with the President-Elect. Erected just two days after the election by Avaaz.org, an environmental group, the 24-foot long tribute has been filled to the brim with pictures, thoughts, and signatures.

Among its inscribers were GW students who made their way to the National Mall this past weekend to enjoy the unseasonably warm Washington weather.

Maffei Wins, Shares Victory With Other Democrats

2008-11-06T15:18:29Z

Dan Maffei (D) won his bid to represent New York's 25 congressional District Tuesday night. He shared his victory at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool, just outside of the city of Syracuse, with a number of Democrats that also won races throughout the county.

For the first time in almost a century, Democrats in New York state now have control over the state Senate, state Assembly, the governorship and the Attorney General's office.

"You've truly made my dream come true," said Maffei. "Now it's my job to make your dreams come true."

Minutes after Maffei's victory speech, Barack Obama was announced the winner. As the crowd erupted, tears flowed freely amongt both young and old supporters.

Mike Short, Director for the Students For BarackObama at Syracuse University said it was tremendous what he and his organization were able to do. He acknowledged the many challenges the new administration would have to face.

"We want a democratic congress to support Obama's agenda, that's crucial," Short said. "It's important the democrats are aware of the country they will govern."

GWU students embrace history, not partisanship

2008-11-06T01:53:31Z

By Chelsea Radler

By 11:20 PM, upon the announcement of Barack Obama's certain victory in the 2008 Presidential Election, students of The George Washington University flooded the streets of the capital.

The sounds of cheering and shouting drew throngs of students four blocks away to the White House, where an impromptu group gathered to celebrate and revel in the making of history.

Supporters held campaign signs, T-shirts, balloons, flags and their hands in the air. Different sections of the crowd cheered, "O-bam-a," "U-S-A" and "Yes, we did!" to the same beat, contributing to the air of patriotism that seemed to supersede partisanship.

Long-term Obama supporter and sophomore Patrick Hanley was overwhelmed by the energy of the crowd. "Triumphant embraces and tears were proof that people of every demographic won a personal victory even more than a national one. It was a poetic night. I don't know how many people I hugged last night, but I didn't know most of them," he said in retrospect.

The group of students became more cohesive as partisanship became secondary to the historical implications of the night.

Senior Ashley Rosen observed that even McCain supporters rallied at the White House. "They weren't cheering for Obama, but for the incredible moment in history we were witnessing. I feel like a lot of people put party politics aside and just cheered for our first black president," she said.

McCain supporter Erin Fee explains, "I was sad for awhile last night, but even my very Democratic friends didn't rub [McCain's loss] in my face. Instead, we ran to the White House and cheered all night in the pouring rain. It was one of the best nights I've had so far in college."

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When one student was asked to give a statement at the rally, he granted the amateur cameraman a pensive stare after quiet consideration and replied, "Anything is possible."

"The energy and feeling of camaraderie was overwhelming. Just like Obama said in his speech, it really was a time for people of all ages, races and classes to come together. It felt like those classifications didn't matter," said sophomore Christina Roman of the gathering.

Christina Carlisi compared her experience at the White House to important events past. "I was reminded of the pictures in history books of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the riots on college campuses in the 1960's," she observed, nothing the historical gravity of the situation.

The Lincoln Memorial also drew an, albeit smaller, crowd that cheered "Obama '08," until the early morning hours.

The atmosphere in the streets of the District of Columbia suggested not only that history had been made, but that the excitement resonated beyond party affiliation.

Eytan Weber, sophomore, reiterated this patriotism when he said, "Last night, this country - MY country - overlooked superficial things like skin color and foreign middle names. In fact, the only thing it did see was a potential for the future. For the first time in my life, I am proud to be an American."

Sponataneous rally of thousands of VCU students shuts down Broad Street

2008-11-05T19:00:00Z

More than 2,000 students took to the streets last night after John McCain conceded the election to Barack Obama, according to the Richmond-Times Dispatch. Several blocks of Richmond's Broad St. were blocked off by Richmond and VCU Police, who allowed the students to parade all the way to the capitol.

Madeline Dell-Aria, 18, a VCU student, said she found an Obama flag and turned it into a poncho-shirt. "It's just so great and there's finally going to be some change. We all just started parading, impromptu parading," she said.

Celebrations in the street

2008-11-05T17:00:00Z

Traditionally the only reason for Tar Heels to rush Franklin Street is when our basketball team sweeps the NCAA tournament.

Tuesday night, Barack Obama's victory brought hundreds of students streaming into the street, showing that, yes, something equals some students' love for basketball.

Chapel Hill police pushed the throngs of students back onto the sidewalks as cars drove by honking. Some rolled down their windows and gave high-fives to the students. Others waved Obama signs out the windows.

People on the sidewalks belted out The Star Spangled Banner and chanted "yes we can," "yes we did" and "U-S-A."

On my way back to my dorm 30 minutes later, excited groups of people still pushed past me on the sidewalks.

"It means that this country is going to be able to move," UNC-CH Young Democrat LaTasha Hill said. "Now we are actually living up to all the things we stand for."

Hundreds of students put in hours for Obama's campaign and other local campaigns. Charlie Sellow, a Young Democrat leader, estimates that UNC students dedicated more than 8,000 hours to the campaigns.

"This campaign is showing that young voters can be a decisive voice in an election," Sellow said.

Now the campaign volunteers will be left wondering how to fill their free time.

"I'll probably do the school work I haven't been doing lately," Young Democrat Jordan Warshauer said.

And soon there will also be basketball games to attend. Maybe you'll see Ashley Judd in our student section.

The future of voting? Magic Pens?

2008-11-05T15:26:30Z

By Collen Beagen

Headlines have been dominated by stories of voting difficulties, fraud and inappropriate practices within Acorn, while few authorities have offered alternative methods. GWU Computer Science PhD student Stephan Popoveninc, however, spent election testing a new system.

Popoveninc, working independently of the university, in conjuncture with a research team headed by distinguished cryptographer David Chaum, asked international students to cast their ballot.

The ballot featured the standard bubble format, except instead of filling in each bubble with a number two pencil (a terribly complex concept for some states), the voter used a "magic pen." Once the pen glided over the bubble a number-letter code appeared. The voter then recorded their code on their ballot receipt and placed their ballot in the box.

"The voter can go online tomorrow and confirm that their vote was counted properly by comparing the code on their receipt to the code recorded," Popoveninc explained.

The "magic pen" contains chemicals developed by the multinational research team that expose the code within each bubble that is invisible to the naked eye. Every ballot contains different codes; so sacred secret ballot is maintained.

"This technique empowers voters to check their ballot. Right now they put a ballot in the box, a physical or electronic one, and have no idea as to its fate," Popoveninc said.

This system was being tested on GWU and MIT campuses, with the emphasis on international student ballots. Could this be the future of voting?

Major trends of 2008: the iPhone, gladiator sandals, Britney's comeback and "I voted" stickers

2008-11-05T15:18:51Z

By Chloe Popescu

I don't love election day. For the past two elections, these evenings glued to the TV have usually meant Chinese take out and extreme disappointment. The first Tuesday in November is cursed. It always feel too weird, too surreal. The stars are never aligned on this day. As goes Election Day 2008, I had hope that this day would be hopeful, exciting and truly historical. Maybe, but still completely schizoid.

Let me explain. I woke up yesterday morning to the sounds of Bob Marley coming in through my window. My apartment building, conveniently located next door to a voting station, was just within earshot of a massive line of voters outside. They weren't bored, stressed, annoyed. They weren't even acting like Americans. Soccer moms had even come down from Maryland to pass out baked goods to voters. So there they were: citizens from every walk of life chomping down on cookies and chillin' to "One Love." I knew this day would be surreal.

I got out of the house and did my usual morning ritual of checking out the news. Guess what the headlines were this morning? Perez Hilton was telling me to get my ass to Ben and Jerry's, voters were getting free ice cream cones - but you have to have a sticker proclaiming that you voted. Hipsters could also get there fix of free "stuff", Starbucks was serving free coffee with the "I Voted" sticker. I didn't consider any of these pitiful voting incentives and made my way to class. Two hours later, as I made my way back across campus, I saw what looked like a dance party in an open plaza in the center of campus. Not exactly. I got closer and saw free ice cream and snacks for students who voted. Oh, wait, no sticker? Next.

I got back inside my apartment only to find my roommate glued to her laptop screen. "Chick-Fil- A is giving away free chicken sandwiches today. Did you vote yet? I need that sticker."

Before I could even reply, there was a knock on our door. It was a girl who lived down the hall. She wanted to get to Krispy Kreme before they ran out of free election-themed dough nuts. She wanted to know if we had an extra "I Voted" sticker. (Note: This wasn't written for the sake of the story. I am a journalist. This really happened.)

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I snuck out of the apartment and made my way next door to place my vote. Ten minutes later (the line of Rastafarian-loving voters had dispersed) I had voted, and was wearing the now infamous sticker. Almost immediately I was approached by older lady wearing an uncountable number of Obama Biden pins. After thanking me for voting she offered me cookies, brownies - whatever I wanted. I politely refused. I would not take free goods for voting. I did not vote to snack on brownies. I was not a sell out.

The rest of the day was a blur. I had wasted so much of my day being disgusted by petty material incentives that I had forgotten that I myself could partake. Several hours later I had dropped red, white, and blue sprinkles all over the carpet. Dipping my Krispy Kreme in my Starbucks got messy.

Seeing red go to blue at GWU

2008-11-05T12:25:45Z

By Leighanna Driftmier

The Republican victory party at GW began full of promise and expectation.

To emphasize that this was definitely the REPUBLICAN party, there were red centerpieces and table cloths. A cardboard cutout of John McCain stood to one side against a backdrop that featured GW Republicans running across it, alternating with the logo. Red, white, and blue balloons soared; McCain-Palin signs were plastered to the walls; the giant projector was playing FOX news; there was a mechanical bull, free food, and the conversation was happily thriving.

As the night wore on, however, things began to get more strained.

The attendance at the College Democrat party next door had swelled to full capacity and Obama supporters began to trickle into the Republican domain eating their food, taking over their seats, and offering unwanted opinions.

In one giant sweep the northeast went blue. But things were still ok as McCain won West Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. And then Pennsylvania was called. More nail-biting ensued but hope was not given up.

Then, shortly before 9:30 p.m. FOX declared Ohio for Obama.

Both visiting democrats and faithful republicans began to trickle out the door.

"The only cheering is coming from the mechanical bull," remarked one bystander.

One CR freshmen remained positive to the last. "At least now it's our turn to complain," stated freshmen Keaghan Ames. "We get to do what the Democrats have been doing for the past 8 years!"

McCain-Palin final event, live-blogged from Arizona

2008-11-04T13:21:07Z

Live from The Biltmore of Phoenix where John McCain and Sarah Palin will announce either their victory or defeat, unless of course the election results become contested a la 2000. You can view the entire feed at http://twitter.com/cqreportcard/.

Making history with Colorado's youth vote

2008-11-04T11:00:00Z

In 2004, President George W. Bush won Colorado by less than 100,000 votes. That same year, only 50% of eligible young voters actually voted -- about 325,000 people, according to the Colorado Secretary of State's office and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

If only one-third of the state's young people had showed up to vote, Colorado's political landscape could have been very different.

More than 1.7 million Colorado voters have already cast their ballots through mail-in and early voting across the state, but there are still over 400,000 mail-in ballots yet to be returned and less than one million registered voters who could show up to the polls Tuesday.

Already, Coloradans are breaking records. Young voters are in prime position to make history.

That's why I will take a minute to step away from the political reporting and, as a college student, explain the importance of our votes.

If the visits from four presidential and three senatorial candidates, or the stops made by several campaigns to just the DU campus over the past year is not an indication of the importance of the youth vote in this so-called "battleground" state, one may wonder why anybody visited at all.

Michelle Obama told DU's The Clarion in September, "this election will decide the course of a generation."

C-SPAN Political Editor Steve Scully, a DU adjunct professor, says that the youth vote has been very important to the campaigns, especially for Democrats.

"From the day that Barack Obama has opened his campaign, he put a premium on registering new voters," he said.

]]> Senior John McMahon was just one of the people helping Students for Barack Obama register voters this fall.

"This has been the most comprehensive effort, possibly ever," he said.

Early reports did indicate that voter registration is up across the state, and that many of those new voters fit younger demographics.

Still, Scully says that even the best registration numbers won't mean much to an election unless people show up to the polls.

"The key to this election is, if the young people actually vote. Historically, they tend not to," he said, referring to the trend of middle aged and retired persons having higher turnout than younger voters.

Colorado has nine electoral votes, and based on the statistics from the Colorado Secretary of State and CIRCLE, its voters are capable of swinging those votes in either direction.

Scully emphasized that Colorado is a battleground and that the polls across the country are not necessarily reflective of what is happening as the election draws to a close.

"I think this race is closer than the polls have indicated," he said.

Senior Kevin Poyner agrees that the race can go either way. As Chairman of the DU Republicans, he has been active in getting out the vote, especially among young people.

"The youth have a lot of power, they just don't utilized it," he said.

Especially this year, he said young people have been very involved in donating their time and money to campaigns.

"They just need to show up at the polls," he said.

The end is near, but according to campaigns, political journalists, and student activists alike: the time has come for students to actually vote.

Colorado is already making history; Colorado's youth should, as well.

Many GW students are unaware of downticket issues

2008-11-03T15:00:00Z

By Daniel Wolman

Andrew Feldman, a George Washington University sophomore, boarded a 3 p.m. bus from the nation's capital to Philadelphia one Friday in late October. The bus ride was the first of two trips Feldman planned to make away from the bubble of GW and into the heart of one of this election's biggest swing states, before November 4th.

Feldman, opting out of a school-sponsored trip to North Carolina with the GW College Democrats, met up with his former boss Nick Collins, who is currently Assistant Regional Field Director for the Obama/Biden campaign in several cities across Pennsylvania.

Feldman's dedication and activism is demonstrative of a growing trend among young political activists who focus and involve themselves with more downticket issues.

Many politically active young people are attracted to the glamor of presidential politics and often forget about downticket races, especially congressional elections that occur every two years. Many students are simply unaware of congressional races, significantly undermining the House of Representatives' identity as the "people's branch".

But not Feldman. Feldman has handed out literature about Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., who is running for reelection in Pennsylvania's seventh district.

However, "the main focus is Obama/Biden," Feldman said.
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The GW College Democrats have worked tirelessly to assist Obama in swing states across the country. As they plan to phone bank on November 1 and November 2, however, they are only calling on behalf of the Obama/Biden ticket.

Lauren Harmon, deputy field director for Bob Lord's campaign for the congressional seat in Arizona's third district, shed some light on this current trend.

"The [Obama] campaign has an organization that's unlike anything we've ever seen before, and they've done an incredible job of meeting younger voters and volunteers where they are-- text messages, YouTube, Facebook groups, etc.," Harmon said.

"In a Congressional campaign...we have to target how we can spend our resources and use more traditional outreach methods like calling and knocking to reach out to our supporters and possible volunteers," she said.

GW junior Caitlin Loehr, will return to her hometown to campaign for Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the congressional incumbent for Minnesota's first district. Loehr attributes the lack of GW student involvement in Congressional campaigns to the campus' location, which is distant from competitive districts.

Loehr was shocked, however, at the notion that only 12 of 30 politically active students in the poll knew their representative.

"You would expect a lot more students here to be more politically aware," Loehr said.

What election issues are most important to Belmont students?

2008-11-01T13:00:00Z

With the presidential election only days away, Belmont students are discussing the political issues that matter most to them. Here, Belmont students answer the question, "What is the most important issue to you in this election?"

Kevin Costner reflects on the importance of a generation at DU

2008-11-01T10:00:00Z

"I'm sorry," Academy-Award winning actor and filmmaker Kevin Costner said, apologizing for his generation to about 150 students in DU's Village Commons Tuesday.

Costner, 53, said the generation that came of age in the '60s and '70s promised to change the world.

Instead, "so little has changed. Now my son is out there, and I haven't done enough to make his life better. Or yours, for that matter...I'm here to work on making good on the promise of my generation," he said.

Students for Barack Obama brought Costner to campus to promote early voting and represent the Democratic ticket.

He said throughout his life, he's seen two different kinds of people in the world and that students today need to choose to be the kind of people who make a difference.

"I don't get a report card any more. When I look at my life and analyze it, was a participant or an observer?" Costner asked in an interview following the talk.

]]> His purpose on Tuesday, he said, was to encourage more students to know their answer and be participants in the process. He never mentioned Colorado's battleground status, but instead focused on how, no matter what, participation is important.

Jarred Olson, a first-year, is a participant. He has cast his early ballot for the McCain ticket. Although Costner was stumping for Obama, Olson was curious as to what the actor had to say.

"If I were going to listen to anybody speak about Obama, it has to be Kevin Costner," Olson said.

Unlike Olson, sophomore Abby Brown, an Obama voter, didn't need to hear about politics.

"I'm really a huge fan of [him]. If this were Dennis Quaid, I wouldn't be here," Brown said.

Kirsten Cangilla, a sophomore, said that she identified as a Republican, but that she decided to vote for Obama this year. Besides seeing Costner, she was curious what Costner had to say about the campaign.

After the speech, Cangilla said she was surprised to learn that Costner is an independent.

"It adds more credibility to his message. It takes off the partisan spin. We just wanted information, and that's what we got," she said.

"I really like that he said, 'just vote,' and not who we had to vote for," Olsen said said.

Costner took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of voting.

"Notice I haven't told you who to vote for...because you know who to vote for. So, let's vote," he said.

He said he hoped that young voters wouldn't find an excuse not to show up and would recognize how significant their vote is.

"It's not an uncool thing to do, it's uncool not to," he said.

He described the generation currently in college as "the most powerful interest group in America" : in a position to have real influence, if they make it to the polls.

Toward the end of his 20-minute speech, he reminded students of this influence and compared it to his experience.

"My generation was united once for a little while...then it ended, and so did our power. The world suffered, and so did we...if I could go back to my young self, I would say, 'don't leave it up to somebody else.' So, I'm promising you, if you stand as one next week, you will experience your power, and you will change the world. You should change the world. It needs you," he said.

Before the speech, Senior Shea Scott said he wondered what Costner would possibly have to say to DU students.

"I'm curious why [he] is doing something like this, especially on our campus," he said.

Costner reflected on his "report card" after the speech.

"Today, I was a participant...that's the most important part," he said.

Belmont bookstore sells election-related items

2008-11-01T00:30:13Z

The Belmont University bookstore is selling items relevant to the election and the Belmont presidential debate, which took place in Belmont's Curb Event Center on October 7. Available items include Belmont Debate '08 T-shirts, shoulder bags, bumper stickers and notecards, as well as Barack Obama's and John McCain's books, The Audacity of Hope and Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them.

The bookstore is also selling T-shirts that proclaim "I'm a Bruin, and I Vote!" These shirts will be available for five dollars through November 4.