Barack Obama is the new president-elect of the United States of America.

When the news was released that Obama was the projected winner of the 2008 election, screams and cheers broke out across the campus from those who wanted him to win. Dozens of students from the African-American house on Nevada Street ran outside to the street chanting “O-ba-ma,” overwhelmed that an African-American was elected to be the president of our country. Other residents of Nevada Street who joined in the elation of the night came out to celebrate with these African-American students.

Obama’s historic win, while disappointing to some, definitely caused a stir on the U of I campus. On Green Street, police blocked part of the area off because the positive student reaction led to a crowd forming on the main street in Champaign. Loud cheers of “Yes, We Can,” a phrase from Obama’s acceptance speech in Grant Park, came from the mouths of the college students who were excited by the results of the election.

For most college students, this was the first opportunity to vote in a presidential election. As one of these collegians, I was extremely excited to be able to take part in this historic day. I woke up extra-early to get in line to vote, and wore my “Yes, I Voted” sticker all day. I was so excited to get to have a say on who would lead our country for the next four years.

These next four years are crucial. College students are used to hearing this sentence, because college, theoretically, lasts four years, the same amount of time as the term of the president. As college students know, four years can really make an impact.

Whether Americans voted for John McCain or Barack Obama, both candidates had a shared idea last night in their respective speeches. Both senators were adamant that though beliefs of political parties differ, we are all Americans, and need to come together as citizens of this great country to improve it to the best of our ability.

So let’s come together, no matter our party, and remember that as Americans, we are all united behind one flag.

“For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”
-Barack Obama