Heyyy there all of you Americans! First, I highly recommend you read Kristen’s Blog, because it is awesome! Before I get into election stuff, there is one thing you should know about me… I am a total RED WHITE & BLUE dork! My iPod is LOADED with patriotic marches and I just LOVE the feeling of patriotism.. Ahhh, it’s the best feeling in the whole wide world! Okay, so with that being said, I woke up on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, and decked myself out in red white and blue! Woo! It was my first time legit voting.. and it was such an awesome feeling! I felt so powerful, and I felt that “YES I CAN!”

So, last night, I held an “Election Reflection” program in Deyo Hall! It turned out really well. We had some snacks and talked about politics while waiting for the results.. and joked around a bit, of course! Overall, it was just really fun to chill and discuss the results coming in!

At around 11:00 PM, I left the program to do a round of Deyo hall.  As I passed a room on the first floor, I heard loud screaming, and just as I was about to knock and ask the boys to be a bit quieter, the door flung open, and people ran out into the house area screaming “OBAMA!”  Confused, I went inside their room, to hear the TV say “OBAMA = The United States of America’s 44th President!”  I jumped and we all hugged each other- it was absolutely wonderful!  I then SPRINTED to my suite, but got stopped on the way by residents jumping and hugging each other- beautiful!

Everyone then ran outside.  It was INSANE.  Hundreds of residents from the Hasbrouck Complex were outside playing bongos, holding signs, singing, screaming, and smiling and laughing with their friends.  It was truly one of the most amazing experiences I have EVER had in my entire life.  Today I heard one of my residents say “Everyone was just so happy.. it was just pure joy and happiness,” and that is exactly what it was, and I am forever grateful to have experienced this piece of history here at New Paltz.

Pat and Keron excited about the results!

Jessie and Jessie!

Me with my friend for practically 20 years, Starface!

Thirsty Thurst!

Deyo Represent, yo!

Hundreds of people in front of Deyo!  Pure excitement!

After about 45 minutes, the mob began to parade around campus.  People were chanting “OBAMA” and just laughing and having fun!

They ended up at the Student Union Building, and it was pure craziness!  Thanks to Vicky for some of these pictures

LOOK AT THIS PRIDE!!!!!!!!!

Woo!

Okay, so I voted, exciting!  I have appreciated Barack Obama since 2006 when he released The Audacity of Hope. This text was truly inspiring to me, and has led me to support him for the past three years.  Furthermore, I am the biggest GILMROE GIRLS fan you will everrrr meet, and in the last episode, Rory took a journalism internship in which she would be following the Obama campaign.  This leaves me thinking.. what is Rory up to now??

Anyway, after this excitement, I called my mom, and listened to Obama’s speech with her on the phone.  I cried!  It was so amazing!

Honestly, the power is in our hands.  We are more fortunate to live in America than I can ever express in this Blog entry!  I am so glad that such an immense number of citizens took advantage of this opportunity, and voted.

Whether you are for Obama or not, I hope that you are excited for our future, and that you recognize that anything is possible.. YES WE CAN! No matter who you are, what you look like, what you think, it’s all good, life is good.. because in America, we accept each individual and embrace unique differences.  It is such a beautiful thing.  Again, Life is Good!

YES WE CAN!  Enjoy! -Jessie

It’s past midnight now, but I still see it as Tuesday, November 4th, Election Day for 2008. So, today, a little past 6am, I went to the Student Union Building, showed verification, and then walked through the empty “mouse maze” of tables to my curtain of opportunities. I approached a man who opened a book chock full of signatures. After I signed my name, next to my previous, photocopied signature, I realized, wow, I may be one of the thousands of names in that book, but what I say matters. Together, those thousands of signatures can speak as a nation and make a difference! With some trepidation and some anticipation, I walked over to the the box, which somewhat resembled a shower with a funky, 70s shower curtain. I asked a lady working how the entire procedure operated, just in case. Although I have voted before for other candidates locally and what not, I wanted to make sure I was doing EVERYTHING RIGHT! She was so sweet and truly made me feel at ease, without being influential at all, of course! So without further ado, I walked inside and yanked that red lever to the right. The curtain then closed me off from the outside world and left me alone with my belief and my decision as an United States citizen! What an honor. To be honest, I felt like such an adult; like I was making my way to becoming a mature, responsible individual. It was one of the best feelings I could have had! I’m so proud of myself and everyone who made it to the polls today to vote for who they felt was the best president of the United States. As I’m sure ALL know, Barack Obama and Joe Biden won, being our next president and vice president come January. With that, I will leave you with Barack Obama’s acceptance speech which he made to the American people after bypassing the 270 electoral college votes.

Our President’s Acceptance Speech!!

A bunch of us gathered at a friend’s house about five minutes from the edge of campus, where we sat, ate some delicious food, conversed, and switched between the channels of Comedy Central and CNN for the latest presidential news! It was a lovely gathering!! It was nerve racking, as we all tightly crammed our bodies into the living room with our eyes glued to the tube.

And around 11:15pm or so? <— (I’m not sure if that’s right,) we all got the news of our new president from the Colbert Report and Jon Stewart Show. We thought they were pulling our leg, so we changed back to CNN, and sure enough, Obama was elected our next president. After the realization hit us, the house went hay-wire;absolutely NUTS with excitement! Some people from the house RAN down to mainstreet and onto campus where they witnessed people banging pots and pans, screaming, and embracing one another. From the house I was in, I could hear the cheers from town while standing on the outside porch. New Paltz was alive with this idea of CHANGE! Even when I was walking back from the house and going to my Residence Hall, I could hear people laughing and shouting from the Parker Quad. I could even see the HUGE crowd of people swarming outside the Student Union Building, rejoicing! I felt like I should join, but it was already rather later at night, and I had to get up REALLY early in the morning. Besides, I celebrated with all my friends for several hours before hand and it was a rather emotional evening. I’m sorry to say, that my body was shot! However, I wanted you to get some visuals of what New Paltz looked like Tuesday night!

Here’s some pictures and some videos that Gianna Cioffi took. Gianna Cioffi is a big, no HUGE, activist for NYPIRG! As of a couple days ago, she was ranked the sixth person amongst the entire nation who registered the most people to vote. I hear if she remains 6th place, she gets a 10,000 dollar scholarship. Isn’t that amazing!? GO GIANNA CIOFFI!

Gianna Cioffi being the gunk duck of social justice last year!! She’s so dedicated, she’ll even wear a duck suite to get people to vote!

At any rate, I thought I’d display them so you can get a better idea of the craziness that went on last night. I heard SO many people say they’ve never seen ANYTHING like this before! Thanks Gianna in advance!

Someone is crowd surfing!

10 minutes of screaming and craziness!

Drums being played and dancing in celebration!

With that, I must catch my Z’s. If nothing else, I am proud of being apart of such a monumental moment in American history and I’m proud to share that moment with New Paltz.

Here is the New York Times article on the winnings of the election.

New York Times article on the Election Results.

Read up and enjoy the rest of your week!