Notes from a New Era

Fosco was teaching section last night when the CA polls closed and the election was called for Obama (we knew immediately--I allowed laptops in section last night). When Fosco left the classroom around 8:45, there was a spontaneous crowd of several hundred students standing in the Oakes quad cheering and chanting "O-Ba-Ma!" As Fosco watched, the crowd began to walk to another nearby residential college (College VIII), becoming an impromptu victory parade.

By the time the parade reached Porter College, there were several thousand students--cheering, screaming, laughing. (But why were the men taking off their shirts? Inexplicable. An equally vexing question: why is Steve Guttenberg jogging pantsless?)

Fosco attempted to capture some of the euphoria with his phone, to little success. However, in the interests of full documentary realism, here is the video:

Even though Fosco's Obama buzz was killed today, he still appreciates the joy and hopefulness of his students and the students he saw last night. This is truly something new in Fosco's experience of American politics. May it last for a long time.