PUBLISHED: 11-10-08

Editor’s Note

Our dedication to Election 2008

Columbia’s campus was transformed into a political battleground in the early morning of Nov. 4, as vendors began setting up to sell Barack Obama memorabilia. Students and residents flocked to nearby polling stations to cast their ballots, and supporters began to line up at Congress Parkway and Michigan Avenue to enter Grant Park for the evening’s festivities in honor of Obama’s candidacy. The South Loop was electrified with an incomparable energy of anticipation and excitement from around the world.

And The Chronicle was there to capture it all.

In an effort to provide you, our readers, with documentation of one of the most important and significant events in the nation’s history that took place mere blocks away from your college and in your community, The Chronicle staff is dedicating the bulk of this issue to the elections of November 2008. Though you will find many important stories that are not election-related, yet are still relevant-including the death of local historian Studs Terkel, the indictment of Columbia donor William Cellini Sr. and coverage of the latest college council meeting-we as a staff have decided to bring you the best of our coverage of how Chicago celebrated Election Day.

We spent almost 12 hours in Grant Park to get the perfect photo of Obama and talk directly to supporters before and afterward. We were at Republican rallies in the South Loop and North Side to talk with McCain supporters and local politicians running for office. We went to polling places around the city. We spoke with residents about the issues that concerned them the most. We talked with students at events on campus. We found a North Side bar celebrating with a Sarah Palin drag queen. We photographed the mobs of residents that swallowed the streets of downtown before and after the Grant Park event. We were there, everywhere, to capture it all for you.

And we worked nonstop from the evening of Nov. 3 to the early morning of Nov. 5 to bring you continuous coverage on our website, with many photos of the events throughout the day on Nov. 4. We’re continuing to update the website with videos, photos and first-hand accounts.

It became clear to us on Nov. 5 when Chicagoans were clamoring for copies of local publications that you wanted something to help you remember this day. From the striking photos of Obama we captured and published on our front and back pages to the attractive price of our free newspaper, we felt it was our responsibility to make this issue something for you to keep for the rest of your lives. We wanted to create an issue that you would want to show your friends and family back home to share your experience as a college student in Chicago on Election Day 2008. We hope you enjoy everything you’re about to read, see and experience as you flip through the pages of this issue. But mostly, we hope this will help you remember this day in history that you and citizens across the country were a part of.

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