Emotions were high in anticipation of the 2008 presidential election. Power shifted from a Republican to a Democratic White House.

Fear of a worsening economy, including high gas prices and high unemployment, pushed voters toward President-elect Obama’s platform.

As Election Day drew closer, fears remained fears, turned to prayers, turned to hope or became apathy.

“I’m ready for a change,” said junior business major Kait Geishecker. “This election was my first time voting, and I was excited to see that my vote counted towards change.”

Tom Carter, junior business management major, saw the election as a pattern of sameness with the same people in power, and thought voting wouldn’t make a change or improvement.

Carter voted Independent because he thought each person who voted would be “just another number.” It’s understandable to feel that way with an unpopular war and high national debt. Seeing how things are now, the “American Dream” is lost in the shuffle, and appears to have disappeared completely.

Believing any person can do anything or can be anything is hard when many elected officials tend to come from privileged backgrounds.

With this trend in mind, it’s hard to feel that those officials can relate to the common man.

Van Amos, program coordinator for the Center of Black Studies, said he felt hope that anything could be possible when Obama announced his candidacy for president. When Obama won the election, that feeling became true for Amos.

In the land of the free, elections should make citizens feel that national issues will be addressed as important. People want and expect elected officials to act in the best interest of the country.

With this idea in mind, the 2008 election represented more than just a historical milestone when the first African-American president was elected.

This election brought an era of change, in which the American people will be heard.