CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the course number for “Social Media and the 2012 Election” class was misstated. The course number is PAI 730.

Graduate students clutched crayons, frantically scribbling, not paying any attention to staying in the lines. This wasn’t about a pretty picture — it was about the presidential election.

On Tuesday night, students from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs gathered in Strasser Commons in Eggers Hall for the Maxwell 2012 Presidential Election Night Watch Party.

Catering staff hung campaign signs around Eggers Hall. Signs for President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney hung on two different columns, separated by a doorway. A TV was tuned to CNN, with the volume turned low.

Ines Mergel, an assistant professor of public administration, planned to spend Election Night following coverage on TV and eating pizza with her PAI 730: “Social Media and the 2012 Election” class. But when Matt Gress, a graduate student studying public administration, suggested throwing a viewing party instead, she decided to change her plans.

More than 100 Facebook RSVPs later, a group of graduate students and Maxwell professors gathered in Eggers on Tuesday night. The students watched the election live on CNN and monitored the Twitter hashtags #ElectionSU and #Election2012.

Guest speakers from Maxwell offered commentary on LGBT issues, personality sketches of the candidates and analysis of poll numbers.

The event, which took four weeks to plan, was an entirely faculty-based initiative, said Mergel. The effort engaged the Maxwell community, piquing fresh interest in the final stretch of the election among students, something that Mergel finds thrilling.

“With social media they are so engaged and have been allowed to participate and be a part of the conversation,” she said, pointing to the Twitter feed on the projector at the front of the room.

Social media platforms put students in a “constant awareness stream” fed by their friends’ posts, Mergel said.

Emily Ruddock and Andrew McQuaide, both Maxwell graduate students, emceed the evening, introducing the speakers and handling audience questions. 

The music of Ellie Goulding and Gnarls Barkley played throughout the night, relaxing the mood of a panel whose academic element was already stripped down by the 5-minute speaker limit.

A group of journalists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal mixed with the students, who themselves came from different generations and countries.

The journalists are visiting SU as part of a U.S. State Department-sponsored program to immerse international journalists in the democratic process. 

By the end of the night, the crowd was condensed into a tightly knit group of about 40 in the center of the room. Nearly silent except for the soft hum of conversation along the fringes, all faces were turned up staring intently at the poll results.

When Ohio came up with 58 percent for Obama, the crowd cheered.

Despite the lightheartedness of the event, serious issues presented in the election were discussed.

Robert McClure, professor of political science, was the final speaker before the crowd turned its attention to CNN’s first projection results.

“This election was the most discouraging out of any I’ve ever seen,” he said. “The leaders misrepresented almost everything they talked about. There was almost no truth.”

Critiquing the electoral process, McClure questioned the role of presidential debates, voicing disdain for their tendency to “turn political questions into highly technical questions.” He said it is unlikely that voters will take the initiative to do extensive research on the candidates and issues.

Said McClure: “We get the leaders we choose and ultimately, the leaders we deserve.”

Published on November 7, 2012 at 5:55 am

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