With dozens of election campaign signs and a pig roasting in the front yard of her East Lansing home, interior design senior Brandi Dunkel explained why she spent the day on campus persuading students to look beyond their lives at MSU.
“That’s what I was telling people today when I was handing out the pamphlets with who to vote for — I was saying, ‘Think about your future income,’ and, ‘Get a job when you graduate,’” Dunkel said. “You’ve just got to think about the future, and this election really puts people in that place.”
Dunkel’s home was the site of an election party hoping for political changes in both Lansing and Washington, D.C. The campaign signs covering the lawn sported several conservative politicians — politicians Dunkel’s mother Clare Dunkel believes will spend less tax-payer money.
“We need to stop the spending,” Clare Dunkel said. “Nobody gave anyone the right — even anyone who voted in Democrats — to spend the kind of money they’re spending.”
Not all students were in East Lansing for the election — some made the journey to Detroit.
Joe Duffy, a social relations and policy junior and president of MSU College Democrats, attended the Election Night Victory Party in Detroit Tuesday night.
Duff said although the numbers looked discouraging as of about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Democrats held out hope.
“We’ve seen the polls in the past weeks and we’re still optimistic that the voters will choose to support the Democratic ticket,” Duff said. “We’re not really euphoric, but still optimistic.”
Andrew Walker, a chairman of the MSU College Republicans, had more to celebrate at the Michigan Republican Headquarters in Lansing on Tuesday as numbers showed a victory for Republican Rick Snyder.
“We’re all happy after months of hard work and getting out the message to voters,” Walker said. “Tomorrow, all the Republicans are going to have to wake up and find out how to fix Michigan once again.”
Clare Dunkel, who also has a son at MSU, organized Tuesday’s election gathering at the corner of Elizabeth and Park streets.
According to Brandi Dunkel, the party was in part celebrating the freedoms of living in the U.S.
“We’re Americans, and we have the privilege to vote,” Brandi Dunkel said. “In a lot of countries, people don’t get that privilege, especially being a girl.”
People attending the party battled the cold as the sun disappeared and the seconds ticked away for voters to cast their ballots. A lack of cable television access limited the ability for the party guests to watch live election coverage, but those in attendance tuned into satellite radio and stayed committed to keeping the party alive until the polls closed.
Kyle Duncan, a second-year veterinarian student, said students should vote because their careers are on the line.
“I think it’s important to vote because in just a few years, these college students are going to be the ones going out and seeking jobs and promoting their communities,” Duncan said.
“Really, they’re the ones being most affected, so they need to be the ones being most informed.”
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