Text size:

Hofstra students have Super Tuesday primary party

BY SOPHIA CHANG | sophia.chang@newsday.com

February 6, 2008

Super Tuesday seemed almost beside the point at Hofstra University's primary-watching party last night.

Every few minutes, a student wandered up to the five flat-screen televisions lining the room - one of the Hempstead university's studios in its Communication Department - and stared intently.

But many students in the mostly Democratic crowd, at times 75 strong, came together for the sense of history in the making and a political fever they shared over pizza.

Supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and the handful of Republican voters said the upcoming election would be life-changing. But advocates of Barack Obama - by far the most popular candidate at the party and the only one with a dedicated student group - talked about how inspired they felt.

"Voting for an African-American as my first presidential candidate is pretty awesome," said Luke Moseley, 18, a freshman from Connecticut. Though he originally supported former Sen. John Edwards, Moseley voted for Obama by absentee ballot.

Meanwhile, Robb Friedlander held a cell phone up and balanced a laptop on his knees before leaping up in delight in response to an early return.

"Yes, Kansas is in!" Friedlander, 18, said with a whoop. He had a special connection to his home state's primary - during winter break, the freshman political science and theater major had volunteered with the Kansas City Barack Obama campaign.

He said Obama moved him like no other modern politician. "I've never seen a candidate speak to me that said, 'Come with me, we can change the world.' It's something that's really inspiring our generation," he said.

Robin Doublebower, 21, a junior from San Diego majoring in Russian and economics with a minor in political science, said she disliked Clinton's tendency to be "too strident and too divisive in the party."

But Brent Weitzberg, a political science sophomore from Forest Hills, said he found Clinton to be refreshingly straightforward. "She doesn't pull any punches," said Weitzberg, 19.

Even Pat McDonald, 21, of Levittown, wearing a Ron Paul button, thought Obama might win the presidency. "It's important to have someone with a blank slate," said McDonald, a Latin and classics senior.