Members of UW-Madison student organizations representing both President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain said the 2008 presidential election has inspired widespread political activism across campus.
Bryon Eagon, state coordinator for Students for Obama, said the celebration on State Street Tuesday night was a historical"" and ""amazing"" experience.
""I was not only the most proud I've ever been to be a Badger, but also an American,"" he said.
With the closing of the election, student leaders on campus noticed an increase in student political activism since the primaries last February.
""Both sides have been really visible on campus,"" said Lucas Moench, a member of Students for McCain. ""The fact that there was so much turnout in the area has to be due to student participation.""
Democrats on campus said they were overjoyed with the outcome of the election results, but still have to work to sustain support from university students for the future president.
""We are going to be working hard on the actual issues that Obama talks about,"" Jamie Stark, a member of Students for Obama, said. ""The election was just the first step of a long walk that will take even more work to make the changes and get things accomplished.""
Eagon said future work for Obama supporters will pose some challenges.
""It's going to be one of the biggest challenges to find out and learn the best way to harness all of the energy and turnout that we saw in this election, and to translate that into continued and sustained engagement,"" Eagon said. ""But unlike past elections we are not going to give up.""
Leaders from UW-Madison's Republican student organizations said though they were unhappy with the results, they will still look to continue voicing their opinions.
""The election might be over but we still have work to do,"" College Republicans Chair Sara Mikolajczak said. ""With the Democratic takeover, there are going to be things that will happen that we don't agree with '¦ We are going to have to do our best to voice our opinions.""
Both Democrat and Republican student organizations said they will specifically look to focus on the upcoming campaigns, including re-election of seats in the state's Supreme Court.
