Amid Obama euphoria, Republican students reflect on loss

"I really wasn't optimistic going in. I kind of had a feeling in the back of my mind ... it was [the difference] between what you want to see and what you know is going to happen," Jay Parikh '12 said, surrounded mostly by triumphant Democrats at the election-watching party in Whig Hall on Tuesday night.

He and two of his Republican friends, both freshmen, displayed a modified McCain-Palin sign that read "Grieving Party."

Parikh, who hails from a predominantly Republican town in the South, said he sometimes finds living on the left-leaning Princeton campus to be a "different experience."

"I try to stay sane once in a while ... in a ‘safe haven,' " Parikh said, citing time spent among other conservatives while working for the Republican Party.

According to a study by the student polling group Nassau Research, roughly 60 percent of undergraduates are Democrats, while only about 16 percent are Republicans.

"It really is an uphill battle being conservative [on campus]," Kelly Roache '12 said. She added, however, that the experience tests her views in a way that strengthens the foundation of her political ideals.

Shea Conaway '10, the College Republicans' webmaster, said he faced similar challenges to his political leanings. "It has been tough," he said. "For instance, I'm in Terrace, and I think I'm the only McCain supporter I know of [in the club]. So I'm a constant focal point for disagreements or problems, it seems."

Conaway explained that he also finds himself justifying the reasoning behind his political leanings.

"I feel like I made an informed decision," Conaway said of his choice to support McCain. "I feel like a lot of times people question it as if it wasn't an informed decision, which can be kind of disappointing."

Against prevailing political views on campus, College Republicans and campus conservatives have fought to the end, traveling to Pennsylvania on Monday and Tuesday to campaign for McCain after traveling to Virginia and Pennsylvania during Fall Break.

Joel Alicea '10 said he was a rare optimistic Republican on campus during the final week of campaigning.

"I thought that we had really captured all of the momentum that we could going in, and all of the polls were tightening in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida," he explained. "I thought we were going to pull it off, but I have to admit that I'm an optimist, and most of my conservative friends thought we would lose."

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Alicea said that he knew that the presidential race was over as soon as Pennsylvania was called for Obama.

The turning point was the same for Roache. "I thought McCain had a shot at Ohio, but ... Pennsylvania [was] no contest," she said.

The sense of optimism after the Republican National Convention began to wane for campus Republicans in the weeks leading up to election day.

"I pretty much knew from about ... two to three weeks ago ... when things started going downhill - when the ‘Palin bump' became more of a roadblock than actually helping," Parikh said. "It was almost like the summer of 2007 when [McCain's] campaign just started unraveling."

For Conaway, the fate of the McCain-Palin ticket seemed to be sealed by the failures of the current Republican administration.

"I think this election really has just been a referendum on the Bush administration, which has clearly not gone well, and I think Obama did a good job of tying McCain to Bush," he said.

"There's no doubt that this election is a disaster for Republicans, and I feel like there's going to be some real soul-searching in the party, which I think may be needed," Conaway added.

Though Conaway lauded the capable leadership of the College Republicans and the enthusiasm of its members, "the events we've been having have been sparsely [attended]," he said.

Roache said that some aspects of the election will have important positive implications for the future, despite the outcome.

"I'm obviously thrilled to see that so many young people got involved in the campaign on either side, and I think that that's really a good omen for the years to come," she said.