Campus to Celebrate Historic Vote with Election Night Party, Get-Togethers

Ioana Patringenaru | Nov. 3, 2008

It’s Election Day and you’ve cast your vote. Now you have to wait for the results to come in. UC San Diego is offering several events for everyone on campus to make sense of all the trends that shaped the election—and make the wait more fun.

The Loft@UCSD will host an election results show throughout the afternoon and evening, with games and prizes. Later, a Political Party will kick off at 7 p.m. at the Great Hall of the International House at Eleanor Roosevelt College. The goal of both events is to get members of the UCSD community out of their living room and onto campus exchange opinions and enjoy the evening, organizers said.

These kinds of activities are important for campus life, faculty and students said. “There are a lot of political junkies on campus and there is a lot of academic expertise on campus,” said UCSD political scientist Thad Kousser.

Thad Kousser

An election-night party seemed like the perfect place to bring them together, he added. “Elections are inherently about everyone coming together and making decisions that affect all of us,” said Kousser.  So it doesn’t really make sense to stay home to watch the results unfold—especially this year, the professor said. Nov. 4 will be a historical election, no matter who wins, he went on. This is the election that future generations will ask about, he added. UCSD hopes to provide some answers.

On the evening of Nov. 4, Kousser and UCSD political scientists James Fowler and Sebastian Saiegh will be on hand to discuss the issues and the results at ERC’s Great Hall. Several students also will provide their point of view, including Associated Students President Donna Bean, as well as a student volunteering for the Obama campaign in Missouri and a student involved in San Diego Republican campaigns. 

Students in one of Kousser’s seminars also will double as experts. Fifteen of them worked on projects profiling the battleground states in this election. “Political Party” participants might want to turn to these students before taking part in a contest to predict election results in these very states and for California ballot initiatives. Around 8 p.m., TVs will be turned on and pizza will be delivered. Around 9 p.m., winners of the prediction contest will be announced.

In 2006, about 250 students turned out for the election-night event. Kousser said he expects more will show up this time. Lisa Chen, the AS vice president for External Affairs, said she will be one of them. Chen worked this quarter on a non-partisan voter registration drive that registered nearly 4,000 in less than three weeks. The Associated Students also organized a voter education effort, handing out information booklets about the many initiatives on the California ballot this year.

This will be the first time many UCSD students vote, said Elizabeth Bradshaw, curator of The Loft @ UCSD. “We want the Loft to be open to all to celebrate that right to vote,” she said. The performing lounge will be open from noon to midnight that day and Bradshaw said she hopes it will become a space where students can come together as a community and have lively discussions.

“Something as important as politics should be exciting—not boring,” said Stephanie Mendez, the Loft’s student club manager. “Being able to share that experience is key.”

Students will be able to watch as results come in throughout the day. They also will be able to take quizzes about the candidates and play “pin the tail” on a donkey and an elephant. Life-size cut-out pictures of Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama will be on hand for souvenir photos. And most of all, students are encouraged to bring their opinions and share them, said Mendez. “We want them to be a part of history,” Bradshaw added.

Last weekend, student volunteers worked around the clock to call all students registered during the on-campus drive and remind them to vote. Volunteers also checked that students knew the location of their polling place. There will be six polling stations on campus this year, twice as many as last year. Chen said Associated Students might consider running another non-partisan get-out-the-vote drive Tuesday morning, if enough volunteers sign up. “More and more students want to know what’s going on,” Chen said.