Rockefeller Center was abuzz last night as students, faculty and local residents filed in and out of the "Party at the Rock," an event centered around the election returns.
With two televisions in Hinman Forum and two screens in Rooms 1 and 2 of the Rockefeller Center tuned to the Cable News Network, roughly 150 people gathered to watch the election results and polish off free food and drink.
"It is interesting to me the way people are interacting," Director of the Rockefeller Center Linda Fowler said. "The group seems to be pretty savvy politically."
Most people present at the party said they were not surprised President Bill Clinton won the election, but they were shocked that CNN called the presidential election at 9 p.m.
"People who came here tonight mostly thought Clinton was going to win," Fowler said. But she called the early announcement of results "just wrong."
Zach Hafer '99 said the atmosphere in the Rockefeller Center paralleled that of the country.
"The whole tide, the whole feeling in the country was that Clinton was going to win," he said.
In a less predictable race, Jean Shaheen, the Democratic candidate for New Hampshire governor, became the first female governor of the state in a victory last night.
"It was a good campaign ... She took the pledge not to introduce any broad based taxes," a pledge that "traditionally is associated with the Republicans," Government Professor Tom Nichols said.
"I don't think gender mattered at all" in the race because people really supported her stance on "certain meat and potatoes issues," he continued.
Some students, while not surprised, were upset by Clinton's victory.
Chairman of the Conservative Union at Dartmouth Michael New '97 said, "Obviously, I was hoping it would be a longer night. I am pretty disappointed after such a big year in 1994."
New paced in front of one of the televisions in Hinman Forum for most of the night, anxiously awaiting the closer races determining the House of Representatives and Senate returns.
"I am cautiously optimistic about the House and the Senate," he said at 10 p.m.
Later on, when CNN declared the Republicans to have won a majority in both houses, New said, "I am very happy with the outcome of the Senate. I was expecting to hold on to the Senate," but the Republicans "got a couple more than I expected."
While many students just stopped in for an hour or so throughout the evening, a group of about 10 self-identified conservatives remained in their seats in front of one of the televisions in Hinman Forum.
"This seems to be the Republican television," Fowler said.
A big cheer erupted from this same group when 94-year-old Republican Senator Strom Thurman won his seat again.
"It's been a spurt of good news in a pretty glum day," New said of the incumbent's victory.
When CNN announced at 10:15 p.m. that the Dole campaign had not conceded to a Clinton victory, CUAD member David Mulliken '00 shouted, "Dole's a fighter."
Nichols said, "My guess was that it was bad form for him to concede before the polls closed."
Rockefeller Student Council Intern Jake Shields '99 said of the event, "People are staying, which is a good thing ... that's what we really wanted."
Shields said that while "Dartmouth has a reputation for being apathetic, students have come out and are talking politics."
Fowler said, "whoever decided that your generation was apathetic, it hasn't come to Dartmouth."
Government Professor James Shoch and Nichols shared their political views about the election returns from 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. last night on the Dartmouth Election Network.
"We talked about [the election] from a professional and partisan point of view," Nichols said, adding he represented the Republican viewpoint and Shoch the Democratic.
"We tried to figure out what things meant," he said. "It was five hours of continuous talking and keeping up with all of the numbers coming in."
Highlights of their five-hour spot included live interviews with Shaheen herself and Arne Arneson's campaign, he said.
"The unpredictably [of the House and Senate races] was part of the fun," he added, explaining that keeping track the numbers got confusing.
The DEN worked quietly, tucked away in Morrison Commons and the second floor of Rockefeller Center.
"It has gone really well," DEN Director Rory McGee '97 said.
Around 10 p.m., McGee said, "We are working on getting a live interview with Arnie Arneson."
