UC Berkeley: Taking it to the streets

Tonight, after Obama was announced as the president-elect, thousands of students started pouring out of dorms, cafes, and libraries across Berkeley and started running through the streets of Berkeley. At the time, I was sitting in a cafe studying for a midterm. However, after some encouragement from my friends (thank you guys, I really owe you one), I sprinted home, grabbed my bike and camera, and rode/ran with the thousands of students for the next hour or two.

Now, imagine this entire crowd you see to your right screaming and cheering for Obama. And imagine every car you see holding down their horns and waving. These people were ecstatic. People were genuinely happy about our president. The police in the center of the crowd weren't violent, they were calm and waving. The cars were high fiving every pedestrian they could squeeze by. People were climbing telephone poles, buses, and buildings. Everyone was having a blast. This is what should happen when a president is elected. This is how it should be done. I've never had a lot of love for the political scene of America but I feel like this is a bold step in the right direction. Why? Because thousands of fucking people were running in the streets HAPPY about politics, for once. This man is a leader, and people believe in him. And for that alone - I'm ecstatic.

Another amazing thing about tonight was how the UC Berkeley police managed this crowd.I had a chance to speak with one of the officers and he had told me that they had anticipated this and planted officers on nearly every major intersection. All of the officers were calm and in control - and some were even cheering and smiling with the crowd. When I hopped a gate and climbed up to a balcony I definitely shouldn't have been on to take some photographs they were extremely civil and polite in asking me to leave. It was definitely the safest happy-riot I've ever experienced.

So, well done America. You've actually made Berkeley happy and excited about politics. I didn't think it could be done.

The rest of the photos are on my Flickr page.