By Zhilan Paisley Huang
Boston University News Service
Red, white and blue balloons were bobbing in the room. Boston University students, some of whom were in “BU Vote” t-shirts and holding American flags, watched the live results on the television screen.
BU Student Government and BU Votes hosted the Election Watch Party at Howard Thurman Center on Nov. 5. While watching CNN’s election live updates, students could also leave their seats to grab food and drinks, or gather around a table to play Election Night Bingo.
Students at the Howard Thurman Center. Photo courtesy of Zhilan Paisley Huang/BU News Service. 
Election bingo cards at the watch party. Photo courtesy of Zhilan Paisley Huang/BU News Service. 
Students filling the room at the watch party. Photo courtesy of Zhilan Paisley Huang/BU News Service. 
American flags available for students to take. Photo courtesy of Zhilan Paisley Huang/BU News Service.
“I’m really excited for the possibility of what could happen, but I’m scared for the possibility of what might happen,” Hanna Yilma, a BU sophomore and executive staff at Student Government’s Engagement Cabinet, said.
Yilma said she thought this election is less controversial than the 2020 one, but she was curious if people are going to see “a type of America where you can actually appreciate the diversity.”
For many international students, this is their first experience with the United States presidential election.
“I just want to feel the vibe here,” said Yue Yin, a Chinese graduate student majoring in Information Systems.
For Yin, she said the future president’s foreign policy is the most important issue. It’s her last semester at BU, and she is thinking about finding a job in the U.S. after graduation. She said she wants to know how the election will impact the U.S.-China relations.
Seeing people pouring in, Maddie Ariola, the Vice President of Student Government, said she was amazed to see her team and all the partners in the event make it happen.
Ariola is also one of the co-chairs of Terrier Turnout Week. During the week-long initiative led by Student Government and BU Votes, they were committed to engaging students to vote and educating them how to submit their ballots, she said.
“I had about triple the turnout I expected,” Thomas Larsen, the president of BU College Democrats, said. He said he was excited to get students from all around the campus engaged on election night.
As the election was an anxious time for many voters, Larsen and his team hoped to focus on students’ mental health, he said. To encourage students to take a break from the stress, they didn’t turn on the live coverage of election results during the first hour of the party. Instead, students could “get to know one another, talk about the election and their feelings,” he said.
The party ended at 9:45 p.m. when most of the audience couldn’t take their eyes off the figures on the screen, waiting for the next poll to close. A lot of them were still discussing the election while walking out of the room.
“American democracy is messy, but that’s what makes it beautiful,” Larsen said. “Our ability to disagree with each other is crucial and what makes our country so great.”
