Students crowded around the Mayer Campus Center's television screens and emcees during the Experimental College's (ExCollege) Election Night Extravaganza last night, staring at Twitter feeds and reading assignments as they worked to keep up with both incoming results and their schoolwork.
All thoughts of today's readings and classes were soon forgotten as friends and strangers rushed to embrace each other, high-five and shout refrains of "I'm so happy" when screens at the front of the room projected President Barack Obama's win in the presidential election close to midnight.
University President Anthony Monaco planned to spend some time with students before heading home to watch the television coverage. Earlier in the day, he voted alongside students at Gantcher Center, adding that despite living in England for many years, he is an American citizen.
Monaco enjoyed the opportunity to interact with students throughout the night.
"I was down at South Hall and they had an election party going on, so I got to meet the RAs [resident assistants] and some of the students there," Monaco said.
He said that he was happy with the enthusiasm shown on campus for the election.
"It's good to be here. The excitement is palpable," Monaco said. "I did not expect to see so many people here, so it's nice to see so many people out for the election."
Tension dissipated as, one by one, screens throughout the Campus Center flashed states declaring Obama's victory.
"I was worried earlier today. I'm from Ohio and I was not feeling good about my state," Austin Bening, a senior, said. "When Ohio came in and I got to color in my state [blue] ... I picked up another girl that I know from Ohio and told her, 'This is Ohio.' That's pride."
Efforts to maintain a bipartisan feel to the events were drowned out by an obvious preference for Democratic candidates and liberal-championed ballot initiatives.
Cheers erupted when television networks called key states like New Hampshire and Colorado going to Obama, as well as when it was announced that Elizabeth Warren won the closely contested Massachusetts Senate seat with 54 percent of the vote over Scott Brown.
As Obama's win in Pennsylvania was announced and cheers filled Hotung Cafe, ExCollege Associate Director Howard Woolf said he was pleased with the event's turnout but wished the bias were less obvious.
"It's wonderful. This is what we hoped for. This is what happened four years ago," he said. "My only regret is we really were trying to make this bipartisan, and obviously we have no control over it."
Iowa, then Oregon, were called for Obama in quick succession. At almost 11:30 p.m. a disembodied voice came through the crowd from the front of Hotung's main stage.
"Good news, everyone. We would like to announce that Obama has won Ohio," the emcee said, as chants of "Four more years" and "Obama" overcame Hotung.
As the results of Massachusetts' ballot initiatives came in - such as medical marijuana passing in a landslide - Jumbos in the Campus Center and online took the chance to discuss the issues with their peers and passers-by.
Shortly after the Massachusetts Senate winner was announced, the Tufts Republicans table packed up their signs and headed out the door.
"It's disappointing," Tufts Republicans executive board member Ellie Monroe, a sophomore, said of Republican incumbent Scott Brown's loss. "But it was close. He can come back in the future."
Warren supporters high-fived and reveled in their candidate's win.
"I'm so excited to see [Warren] heading to Washington," senior Matthias Maier, who volunteered with the Warren campaign, said. "As a student I feel like Elizabeth Warren reflects my interests and she supports expanding student loans, which is very important to me as a student graduating with debt."
Students moved throughout the Campus Center all night, buzzing with speculation and anticipation as they took in comedic analysis from political science professors like Dean of Academic Affairs James Glaser.
Student groups like the Institute for Political Citizenship, Friends of Israel and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy discussed issues related to the election. WMFO Tufts Freeform Radio hosts chattered into microphones broadcast throughout the Campus Center's lounge area, bringing students and special guests like Monaco to the stage.
Television screens in Hotung blared the voices of CNN's John King and NBC's Brian Williams, oftentimes overpowering the night's hosts - Tufts professors, administrators and students.
Late into the night, as the last results trickled in and campus settled into a post-election frenzy, the smartphones and laptops came back out. News anchors analyzed graphs showing voter turnout, some students slumped lazily in the lounge, sleeping or scrolling through their phones, while others stood on their toes on the Hotung balcony eagerly trying to catch results from each of the late-reporting states.
The staff at Hotung started work early in the evening, shouting out orders and rushing back and forth behind the bar to fill the coffee cups of wide-eyed poll watchers. Closing up the cafe at the end of the night, Hotung's cashiers shut the gate around the bar and smiled to themselves as the crowd shouted, "Four more years."
-Amelia Quinn and Jennifer White contributed reporting to this article
