Earlier in the semester, we decided as a Residence Life staff that we would hold a program on Election Night in our Recreation Lounge. The Rec Lounge has lots of TVs, so we figured it would be the perfect place to have people gather and watch the results that would come in throughout Election Night. We had TVs turned on different channels, so we could watch the results from CNN, Fox, NBC, and a local channel (to cover the local politics). We also had an Electoral Map prediction contest, where students could choose which candidate would win which states. Whoever was closest, by number of states, will be getting $40 added to their McDaniel OneCard, which is like a debit card that can be used around campus and in town. To make the competition fair, all entries had to be in by 9 o’clock. That way, people couldn’t just put down what was actually happening. We had plenty of snacks: cookies, drinks, chips, muffins, blue and red brownies, chips and salsa, and veggies, so that people could snack while they were watching the results come in.
The attendance for this program was overwhelming! Sure, we advertised all over campus, not just to our own residents, but we have never had so many people attend a program thrown by the Independent Housing Staff. People were coming in and out of the Rec Lounge for the two hours that we were having the program. Everyone seemed really excited to be there, even if they were just stopping in to see the current results. We had over 120 people attend the program, plus it was beneficial because it was educational! I never would have thought a program about Election Day would be so fun!
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