Sarah J. Watson ’06 recalled the “spontaneous expressions of angst” she experienced with other students in her classes.

Frank said that despite the defeat, the Dems will continue their involvement in local and campus politics, and pursue their role as leaders in idea creation within the Democratic party.

As for the party as a whole, Frank said the election will be a learning experience.

“This is going to force people to reflect and take on the hard work of reinventing the Democratic party for the future,” he said.

While Frank expressed fear for the future direction of the country, he pointed to small victories such as Kerry’s win in New Hampshire, a state where both the Harvard College Democrats and the Harvard Republican Club spent much time canvassing.

IN THE CLASSROOM

The election not only dominated conversations between classes, but during them as well.

From an academic perspective, Assistant Professor of Government D. Sunshine Hillygus, who teaches Government 1352, “Campaigns and Elections,” said the Bush victory had been expected by political scientists. Prior to the election, she asked her students to predict results in battleground states based on non-campaign factors such as party registration and economic indicators. Most of their predictions proved correct—a majority of the class predicted Florida and Ohio going to Bush.

Hillygus said that what her students learned in the classroom—such as the disconnect between actual results and exit polls—helped them interpret yesterday’s election results.

Though her students may not have been surprised by the results, Hillygus said she sensed dissatisfaction in a class composed primarily of Kerry supporters.

According to Hillygus, students pondered whether things could have been done differently, asking questions like “What can be done in the future? Does this predict that Democrats have little chance at national office for some time?”

In response to the country’s political focus, professors from non-political classes deviated from planned lectures to address the election.

After hearing that Kerry’s chances of winning Ohio were statistically insurmountable (but before he had officially conceded the election), Professor of Biostatistics at the School of Public Health Louise M. Ryan asked her students in Statistics 100 to crunch the numbers themselves.

She said the results sobered the class.

While Ryan said she was happy to have the opportunity for her students to compute real world numbers, she noted that many were absent after a long night watching election coverage.