The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

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Obama’s victory meets mixed responses from students

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The White House
President Barack Obama rejoices with Vice President Joe Biden and the senior staff in the Roosevelt Room of the White House as the House passes the health care reform bill on March 21, 2010. Obama won the Presidential Election on Wednesday night, establishing his second term as president.

The joyful cheers of “Go Obama!” contrasted with the few dissenting cries that rang through the hallways Wednesday morning as students discussed Obama winning the election.

The results from the JSA election poll announced on Monday revealed that 68 percent of students would vote for Obama. Reflecting those statistics, many students such as Divya Periyakoil (9) were enthusiastic about Obama’s victory.

“I’m so happy that Obama won because I really agree with his views on social issues like gay rights and contraception,” Divya said. “I feel like Mitt Romney brings his religious views into his politics too much, and the people should have the right to decide about these things.”

However, some students such as Darius Yohannan (9) believe that Obama is not the right choice for the country.

“I was surprised. I am very worried about the current state of the country because Obama hasn’t fixed the economy after the four years he’s already had,” he said.

Several students, including Taylor Mahal (11), tuned in to the election on Tuesday night, hoping for Obama to get re-elected to a second term.

“I wasn’t necessarily surprised [by Obama winning]. I was just really hoping for him to win,” Taylor said.

With election night during the school week, some students found it hard to find time to watch as each state’s votes were counted.

Senior Adrienne Mendel was one of many students who could not watch the election due to other school-related commitments on Tuesday evening, but she noted how this election would influence her more than any past ones.

“I watched snippets of it, but I didn’t really watch the whole thing. I think because I’m not allowed to vote, it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I feel like this is the first year that’s actually going to matter to me because next time, I’ll be voting,” Adrienne said.

The JSA-created event “Pizza and Politics” also gave students an opportunity to watch and engage in live discussions about the results at school with their friends.

Freshman Alyssa Crawford found the event to be both educational and fun.

“It was a fun experience to be able to talk about the election with friends when the results were being announced live,’ Alyssa said.

However, some students expressed indifference towards the candidates running, as they won’t be able to vote for a while.

“I mean I wouldn’t really know what would happen because I’m only 14 and don’t personally have to pay taxes or anything yet,” Lev Sepetov (9) said.

For many students, the next election will be the first one they will be able to vote in.

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About the Contributor
Kavya Ramakrishnan
Kavya Ramakrishnan, Winged Post Managing Editor
Kavya Ramakrishnan (12) is the managing editor of the Winged Post. This is her fourth year on staff, having previously held the positions of reporter and copy editor.