On the uncharacteristically warm evening of November 4th, 2008, Barack Obama was declared the winner of the election around 11 PM, and deliriously overjoyed college students flooded the streets of New Brunswick in celebration. Most were drunk on happiness (and in general) as they passed through downtown New Brunswick. After our happy mob swept the bars and restaurants segment of Easton Ave, it gained momentum and numbers as students clad in eclectic combinations of pajamas, underwear, and coats joined them from surrounding residential streets.

Fireworks were going off, people were chanting "YES WE DID" as the police cars indulgently accompanied them through the streets. Every door on the block were open as people leaned out their doors to cheer along with the crowd.

It seems that every parade in Rutgers ends on the the Brower steps, and this one was no exception. The marchers swarmed up the stairs, vibrating with excitement and shouting themselves hoarse. But this felt different than the school pride rioting we did on College Ave the year Rutgers football beat Louisville. It's something so much bigger, and so much more important. We felt like we were part of a miracle, a moment in history when democracy redeems itself.