Thousands of students flooded the streets surrounding campus in celebration after it was announced Tuesday that Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States.
Initially situated on Broad Street, the spontaneous street party became an impromptu parade as the students began to move from outside the Siegel Center down Broad in the direction of the state Capitol.
Marchers beat drums, danced, cheered, set off fireworks and shouted “O-ba-ma,” “Yes we can” and “U-S-A,” among other chants.
“This is a celebration,” said mass communications major Brian Goodwin. “This is everybody coming together for a common goal. Everybody wanted a change in America and the change has come right now. We made it happen today.”
Some students were roused from bed by the loud celebrations. Communication arts major Kim Huff said cheering alerted her to the outcome of the election.
“I was in my room and then all of a sudden I heard a burst of screaming all throughout my apartment building and I figured out who won,” Huff said. “I just kind of came out and joined the march.”
Ashley Darby, a biology major, said, “It’s great that together to celebrate our new president. I think it’s awesome and we’re having a great time.”
While other students had similar sentiments, Steven Latimer, a mathematics major, was disturbed by the amount of noise.
“I had a difficult time going to sleep because of it,” Latimer said. “I understand how people are happy. It was kind of overkill if you ask me.”
The parade eventually travelled down Laurel Street, where the marchers congregated at the intersection of Laurel and Franklin Streets. People climbed onto streetlights and cars.
The crowd then divided, some heading to Monroe Park at the request of police, and others walking toward Main Street.
The Main Street march continued to Lombardy Street, then back onto Broad Street.
Numbers thinned to about 300 people and the crowd completely dispersed around 3 a.m.
Both the Richmond and VCU Police Departments were present for the entire celebration. According to Mike Porter of the VCU Office of Communications and Public Relations, the Richmond Police crowd management unit was the lead agency at the march.
Porter said the energy of the crowd was exciting.
“These people are really pumped about this and they’re out and the police were just there for crowd control,” Porter said.
Capt. David Martin of the Richmond Police Department said there were no reports of property damage or other problems.
“The crowd was very peaceful, very jubilant. We stood back and watched and we requested that VCU do the same,” Martin said. “The only thing I saw and observed from all my officers that were at the scene was they (the crowd) were celebrating.”
The police presence at the celebration helped many students feel secure throughout what turned into a four-hour march.
“The police are here, so if anything did happen, I’d feel pretty safe,” Huff said.
Not everyone was happy with the police presence. When the crowd was assembled at the intersection of Laurel everybody is coming and Franklin Streets, next to dorms Rhoads, Brandt and Johnson, a J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College student was handcuffed and her roommate was pepper-sprayed.
The student, Vanessa Jade, said the police were too rough with her when they pulled her off a stone wall on the 800 block of Franklin Street and put her in handcuffs.
“I wasn’t trying to be violent,” Jade said. “I don’t understand why they were being so violent with me.”
Before she was pulled down, Jade was shouting to the crowd, “Look how beautiful the people are,” which elicited enthusiastic cheers.
“I saw that we’re all congregated together here for a reason. This is a moment and if somebody’s going to say something and unite us, then it’s going to be now,” Jade said. “We’re all here together-let’s do something other than just wreak havoc.”
Porter said Jade was taken down for her own safety.
“She was not cooperative at the time, apparently, and they detained her but they let her go,” Porter said. “She . was restrained temporarily and released with a warning.”
It took two officers to subdue Jade, said her roommate, Paris Polseno-Hensley. He was pepper-sprayed when he got involved.
“After they pulled her (Jade) down and I wrestled her away from the police, (I) then got pepper-sprayed,” Polseno-Hensley said.
About five minutes after being pepper-sprayed, Polseno-Hensley said his face burned but not his eyes.
“I don’t think pepper spray works in the presence of pure love,” he said. “My eyes don’t burn at all.”
Porter said he was unaware Polseno-Hensley was
pepper-sprayed.
“(The police) didn’t mention that to me,” Porter said.
Jade said, “I’m just in shock. We have just been going over the whole experience nonstop because it’s just absolutely insane.”
Porter said students who want to make a complaint about police action have options.
“If anyone feels that they were treated unfairly or with excessive force, you can report it to (VCU Police Department) Chief Willie Fuller,” Porter said. “There are procedures and you are encouraged to do so if there was something out of the ordinary.”
Even before reports of similar celebrations came in, Goodwin acknowledged this was not solely a Richmond reaction.
“This is not just happening at VCU. This is happening everywhere across the country,” Goodwin said. “Everybody is celebrating right now because they realize that this is what the country needed-a change. We made it happen-our students. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but with VCU students right now.”