By Mike Napolitano
In an election expected to have seen a record amount of young voters, Boston’s college population took to the polls, and later to the streets, in a celebration the city has not seen since the Red Sox’ World Series win in 2007.
Hundreds of exuberant students packed afterHOURS and marched through the streets of Boston Tuesday night to celebrate Barack Obama’s victory in the presidential election. Dozens splashed in the reflecting pool at the Christian Science Center as more than 300 people gathered around it after the results flowed in near midnight.
Sophomore political science major Tom Bride described the night as jubilee.
“It was kind of funny. There were a lot of people yelling and chanting and getting in the water for reasons passing understanding,” he said. “At one point an ad hoc marching band came from Berklee. Everyone gathered around and did chants on top of the pillars.”
Bride said he jumped in the water at the reflecting pool.
“I’m glad I did it, although it was very cold and made no sense at all,” he said.
Provost Stephen Director was impressed by the amount of students celebrating.
“I was on campus last night and the number of students that poured out of the dorms was really phenomenal,” he said at the Faculty Senate meeting yesterday.
Boston Police Department (BPD) officers could be found throughout the city in large numbers as well. BPD spokesperson James Kenneally said there were no election celebration-related arrests.
Earlier in the evening, students gathered on-campus in afterHOURS for an election watch party hosted by nine student groups, including the United Nations Association. Marisa Levine, the association’s president, said the event had a great turnout.
“It went very well,” she said. “About 200 people were there at 11 when Barack was announced the winner. We ran out of all the food in the beginning, we had to call in emergency pizza.”
Levine said that while most students there leaned toward the left, she also knew some conservatives who were there.
“It was a pretty open atmosphere,” she said. “I think if I was rooting for McCain I would have felt disappointed but not uncomfortable. It was a pretty relaxed environment regardless of political affiliation.”
Some students attended off-campus events around the city as well. Senior English major Andy Ward said he was in Copley Square for some of the night.
“I went to the Fairmont Copley [Plaza] Hotel after I got out of work because I work near Copley Square where John Kerry was celebrating his victory,” he said. “I only stayed for a little. It was extremely crowded.”
Senior communication studies major Mike Zinni said he went to a Democratic-leaning party run by Drinking Liberally, which describes itself as an “informal, inclusive progressive social group” that encourages people to “raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher.”
“I’m not Democratic by nature, but I went there, and it was just wild,” he said. “I’ve worked at a school in Roxbury with a large black community and it’s great that they’re going to have a positive, strong black role model. Only good things can come out of that.”
– News staff writer Matt Collette contributed to this report
