The Varsity Theatre was probably the loudest place on BYU campus Election Night. Students on the right and left lined up out the door for free food and the chance to support their side. While there wasn’t as much screaming and yelling as a football game, there was still plenty of excitement.
“I am ecstatic. I’m over the moon,” said Michelle McKee, a Utah Democrat. “This is probably the second happiest moment. I voted for him the first time, (and) I voted for him again.”
Seats were hard to come by as students packed the Varsity Theater to cheer on their favorite candidate — and of course grab some free pizza. But while Democrats celebrated, the result of the presidential election left Republicans with a bad taste in their mouths.
“I thought that there was potential that it could go extreme either way,” said Bret Smith, a BYU student Republican. “It looks like it took a turn for the worst.”
Student Democrats say that the biggest problem with Romney’s campaign was the perception that he is out of touch with the middle class, women and minorities. They say President Obama is the right choice for BYU and for the rest of America.
“For me, as a BYU student, he represents the things that I believe and the things that I study,” said BYU student Democrat Bryce Hurst. “He represents the poor and the less fortunate. He represents the minorities. These are all people that I care about.”
Republican students remain skeptical of the president’s plan for the economy in an unstable job market.
“I’m graduating in less than a year from college, and so I was hoping to find a better job market to go to,” said BYU student Republican Amanda Hodges. “I want to see the economy turn around. We’ve had so many problems with gas prices going up and jobs being lost. So I think that’s my main issue that I want to see fixed right now.”
Barack Obama is the 3rd straight American president re-elected to a second term. Both Presidents Clinton and Bush saw approval ratings drop after re-election. Time will tell what will happen with President Obama.
