Smiling students engaged in conversation about the election as they entered through the doors of Burr Gymnasium for the election watch party.
Most attendees cheered along when Vice President Kamala Harris secured states as election live stream updates from MSNBC on YouTube played on screen and music played in the background.
James Bridgers, a health and human performance professor at Howard, was fascinated by the shared enthusiasm throughout the room.
“It’s an opportunity for our students to come and witness history and to share with each other the enthusiasm to have the opportunity for a female person of color to be the president of the United States,” he said.
The hour-long election night party was hosted on Nov. 5 by the Undergraduate Student Assembly (UGSA) and Office of Campus Life. Emails were sent out and flyers were posted online advertising the student-only event. Students registered through Eventbrite, a global self-service ticketing platform.
Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. and the event officially kicked off at 7:30 p.m. with live election updates.
During the watch party, there were performances from the stroll teams from College Hall South (CHS), Charles R. Drew Hall, and Harriet Tubman Quadrangle.
They also started to played trivia on Howard history and aux wars, a game in which volunteers split into two groups and, for several rounds, choose a song of a specific genre of music. The audience cheered for their preferred song.
A long line of students stood in line to purchase popcorn, nachos, sodas and other refreshments. Photo and video booths were available for attendees to capture memories.
About 45 minutes after the watch party began, some students left to attend the official watch party on The Yard hosted by the Harris-Walz campaign.
Maia Patterson, a senior legal communications major, is the UGSA executive coordinator. She was excited to see her team’s hard work pay off. She emphasized that it was both exciting and stressful. She said a lot of the planning, including accommodation of students and ensuring safety, had to be done within a few days.
“We’ve been wanting to do something like this before, so we were originally planning on trying to do it in Cramton [Auditorium]. But once her election decided they wanted to do her rally here, we had to put a lot of stuff together at the last minute,” Patterson said.
Media outlets such as CBC News and WUSA9, among others, were on the basketball court to cover the event.
Adjoa Bediako, a junior political science major, came to the watch party to be surrounded by peers and the school community. She described the atmosphere in Burr Gymnasium as “antsy.”
“We’re excited, but we’re also very nervous because it is a close election. It could really swing either way,” Bediako said.
Sydney Allison, a junior biology major, also came to be around her fellow Bison. She said she was excited to experience the watch party, but expected more from the event.
“I feel like the music, again, it brings us together. But I also believe just the way it’s set up a little bit, it should be just a little bit more organized,” Allison said.
Additionally, Allison hoped for change regarding the election outcome with a potential Harris win.
“I’m hoping for lots of change,” she said. “I feel like the climate is very filled with hate, and I feel like this is just a time for us to give out the hate and experience joy, camaraderie, collectiveness.”
Although the event was sold out, Maia Patterson said an estimated 1,500 people attended, short of the venue’s 2,700-seating capacity.
Allison expressed gratitude for the chance to experience the night.
“It could be very anxiety-inducing, but I feel like just being around, surrounded by each other, we’re all Bison, we’re all a family. I feel like it’s very nice,” she said.
Paris Adon, director of student services, emphasized the importance of the evening. He described it as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” since the election of former President Obama, and hoped for a win for Harris. Adon emphasized that he was not speaking on behalf of the university but sharing his own opinion.
Adon spoke about some of the most pressing issues for this election, including women’s reproductive health, which is important to him as he has a daughter and a wife. He also spoke on what is important to him in a presidential candidate.
“The women’s right to choose is important for me and just bringing back decency to the president position. Integrity is important to me,” Adon said. “I just think that position should be somebody who I respect and who I value as a person. And also, student loan forgiveness is a big thing for me.”
He anticipated the campus being filled with even more excitement and energy following a potential Harris win.
“When she wins, which we’re really banking on, it’s gonna be bananas. I think you’re gonna see people really celebrating,” Adon said.
Copy edited by Anijah Franklin
