My third, and favorite thus far, event was the election results viewing party. I had already attended the first and third debate watching parties, and this event really seemed like the culmination of those. The debate parties had refreshments, but the results party had the normal refreshments and beverages with pizza as an added bonus, and a lot of it because the turnout for this event was rather impressive. Much like the debate viewings, the projector was set up with a livestream of the results from CNN. Updates, analysis, and projections from every election came pouring in. I truly will never forget this event. Everyone in that room was watching history. We were watching a new leader be chosen by the American people state by state. Many may find this boring, but I found it positively riveting. It really felt special, like we were watching one of the most significant events of our lifetimes.
This crowd’s political views seemed to be a tad more diverse than the viewing parties had been. The table I was at actually had far more Trump voters than Hillary voters, with a ratio of seven Trump to two Hillary. Because of this, the cheers were less one sided. Each time a state’s result was announced, there was a mix of reactions from the crowd. For some, relief. For others, total terror. Many are quite scared of what a Trump presidency may bring, so as it became increasingly clear that all the polls and predictions were wrong, there was a distinct tension that became apparent in the room. People on both sides were a little more anxious, some excited, but everyone seemed to be aware of the gravity of what they were witnessing. I did not stay for the results as I’m one of the people who are a little nervous about the president-elect, so my roommate and I dejectedly decided to view the rest of the results in our dorm. Be that as it may, it was still an unforgettable event and I still had a great time (for most of it).