Pounding hearts, racing blood pressure and watery eyes were a common sight across Morrisville State College on Nov. 4 when America announced its future president.

Hundreds of students at Morrisville State College planted themselves in their rooms as the presidential election coverage flashed across almost every television station. For many students, this election was their first opportunity to vote.

Within the first thirty minutes of the election, many faces of Obama supporters fell as John McCain held an eight to three lead in electoral votes. But few McCain supporters could be seen rejoicing at the slight lead. As the night continued, the McCain lead disappeared and the faces of Obama supporters lightened.

As it neared 11 p.m. that night, shrieks could be heard throughout the residence halls after major television stations announced Barack Obama as the president-elect.

Hundreds of students flooded the campus within a few seconds of the announcement. Rallies started forming outside of Mohawk Hall, South and Stewart Halls and Helyar Hall. Students began celebrating the beginning of a new era.

Roars and chants could be heard from opposite sides of the campus until a few McCain supporters opted to end celebrations early.

In South Hall a few students dressed in Ku Klux Klan-like sheets and hung Confederate flags outside their windows. The rallies grew bigger as Obama and McCain supports clashed outside Helyar Hall. As one student tried to make peace with a group of McCain supporters, another threw something at both of them.

The tension rose further after a McCain supporter walked through a crowd of Obama supporters with a knife in hand.

Many individuals chose to speak to the crowd to reduce the tension and prevent a brawl similar to the one that took place two months ago off-campus at the Corral.

Many students began to shout "My president is black" while smoking marijuana in the open. University Police officers, who were present during the incident between Obama supporters and McCain supporters, began to try catching the individuals who were smoking.

To my amazement, the student who held the knife as he walked through the crowd was not apprehended; however, individuals who were smoking were targeted instead. A night that began with peaceful celebration shifted to chaos.

Inside Helyar Hall, students wrote "McCain" on papers and stuck them across random doors.

Obama supporters did not remain peaceful and began to lash out against students who supported McCain. Many students blamed opposite party supporters for the chaos. In fact, both were at fault.

Obama’s win did not induce people to smoke marijuana because their "president is black," nor did it provide a reason for people who opposed Obama to shout racial slurs and dress in costumes worn by hate groups. Last Tuesday’s election called for the celebration and dawn of "A change we can believe in," in Obama’s words, but that night showed the challenge Barack Obama has in uniting the nation.