A Night to Remember

CATHERINE JUN Sara Ehrenberg campaigns for her
son, David Ehrenberg, on Bruin Walk Friday. KEITH
ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Karren Lane is
surrounded by supporters as the announcement for USAC president is
made. PRIYA SHARMA/Daily Bruin Fourth-year physics student
Shamaun Holston votes at a booth in front of Royce
Hall.

By Scott B. Wong
Daily Bruin Staff

The colored T-shirt wars came to an end Thursday night as reds,
blues and yellows converged on the steps outside Kerckhoff Hall to
learn who would lead the next Undergraduate Students Association
Council.

Before election results came in, Student Empowerment! supporters
rallied behind their candidates in party-style. Some beat on
makeshift percussion instruments ““ empty Arrowhead water
bottles and pans ““ while others stomped their feet and
clapped their hands.

And though their rhythm was unsynchronized, the pulse of
positive energy resonating from students and off the high walls of
Kerckhoff Hall, seemed to travel through to all those present.

“Every year is like a party for us, and regardless of what
the results are, every year is a victory,” President-elect
Karren Lane said, addressing the crowd of approximately 100 Student
Empowerment! supporters.

Clad in blue jerseys, the Nikkei Student Union modern dance team
performed their last hip-hop number of the year on the Kerckhoff
steps moments before the announcement.

One student on the side joked that the dancers were dressed in
blue ““ S.U.R.E.’s primary color.

But dancers, including External Vice President Evan Okamura,
shed their blues midway through the set, tossed them aside, and
exposed fiery red T-shirts, which sported the Student Empowerment!
exclamation mark.

Despite cries for diversity and inclusiveness from both sides
throughout the week, the two slates stood clearly segregated
““ reds on one side, blues on the other, and yellow somewhere
in between.

Upon anticipation of the election results announcement, Student
Empowerment! supporters huddled together on the Kerckhoff steps in
a unified pack.

Meanwhile, S.U.R.E. and independent supporters formed a crowd,
not nearly as large, on the outskirts of the Student Empowerment!
group on the knoll of Meyerhoff Park.

S.U.R.E. members attempted to rally behind their presidential
candidate, Dusan Miletich, chanting “Du-san, Du-san,
Du-san,” but were drowned-out by the vocal strength of
Student Empowerment! supporters who shouted in call-and-response
fashion, “Yo, pass the love! Pass it to me! ““ Student
Empowerment is community!” and “We’re fired up!
We can’t take it no more!”

The shouting match was ultimately silenced by the honking horn
of the bringers of news ““ the Elections Board. The crew rode
out in grand style in their own version of horse and chariot, an
orange flatbed electric cart from which stood a victory flag,
lettered with the word “E-Board,” for having conquered
the menial task of counting nearly 5,000 ballots.

As E-Board Chair Nicole Lynch took center stage and announced
the new successors to USAC, the Student Empowerment! mob
transformed itself into a mosh pit, with people screaming, jumping
and bumping each other.

As S.U.R.E. candidates and supporters trickled home, the energy
of Student Empowerment! would continue late into the night.

The mob which became a mosh pit, transformed into a large circle
at the base of the Kerckhoff steps on Bruin Walk ““ the very
site of many hours of tireless campaigning.

And as the beats and chants slowly started up again, Lane began
to dance, inspiring what soon would become a blur of red energy in
the night.

MOHAMMAD ALAVI Presidential candidate Dusan
Miletich cheers as results for other positions are
announced. EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin After the results are announced
around 10 p.m. the crowd forms a circle in front of Kerckhoff Hall.
EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin The Nikkei Student Union Modern Dance Team
provides entertainment a few minutes before the results are
announced.