University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

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As THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS INCHED CLOSER, STUDENTS HUDDLED AROUND TELEVSIONS AWAITING VICTORIOUS NUMBERS written hv MARTIN BARTLETT Itlwlns ralilml In MATTHEW SHARPE Olc Miss can turn anything into a social event, and presidential elections are no exception. While Sen. John Kerry gathered his supporters at Faneuil Hall in Boston and President George W. Bush gathered his at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, Ole Miss students gathered in houses, apartments, bars and restaurants to watch the first numbers trickle in. We rented out the Rib Cage from 8 p.m. to midnight. We had lots of members of the Republican Party from around Oxford adults and members of College Republicans, Judith Ann Montiel said, chairwoman of the Ole Miss College Republicans. Election night 2004 was another long one - not as long as 2000, though. We had all the TV screens going on different TV stations. When it came closing time, probably half the group had already left. The rest went down to the Republican headquarters and watched there, she said. College Democrats were also huddled around TVs, counting electoral votes and waiting and hoping. The College Democrats held their election night party at Lexington Pointe apartments. They also were up late into Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday morning watching states turn red and blue. College Democrats President Aaron Rollins said by the time it finally rolled around. Election Day was a welcome resting place on a tiring months-long journey. So much goes into a campaign and. it ' s like all the work you ' ve done for the whole campaign season all comes down to one night, he said. It ' s like your reward. Election Night 2004, though, was more rewarding for College Republicans. While Democrats were biting their nails watching results come in from Florida and Ohio, Republicans were amassing a comfortable margin. On election night, it was just such a relief that the day had finally come because so many people had been working hard for this common goal, she said. It was time to celebrate that, Montiel said. Win, lose or draw, the big issues of 2004 election ignited tempers and evoked passion. More people voted nationally than had ever before. But in Mississippi, elections are always big BH I think people in our area are very passionate people on many things - politics, sports, religion this year we ' ve seen thai passion play out in politics. Everybody has an opinion, Montiel said. But passions aren ' t reserved for Republicans at Ole Miss. Most of the politicians in Mississippi come from Ole Miss. It ' s the most political school in Mississippi, I can safely say. It ' s On election mght It was just such a relie that the day hac hnally come because so many people hac been workme hare one of the most in the Southeast, Rollins said. The state of Mississippi played the role everyone expected: Bush carried the state, Mississippi was one of 1 1 states whose voters put their seal of approval on a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, and U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R- Miss., was resoundingly re-elected. In that sense, the 2004 election cycle was business and usual. Nationally, the 2004 election was as energizing as it was explosive. Republicans hung onto majorities in both Congressional houses in addition to winning the presidency. But Democrats have fired a shot across the bow of the GOP: They say even in Mississippi they ' re not going anywhere. It was encouraging to me. We ' re going keep on working hard, and we ' re going to show the Republicans that it ' s not going to be that easy, Rollins said. 50 I Till, Ole Miss 2005

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le had a secret hidden from all who kncv eh£ hcA A 9ie kept telling herself that everything happens for a reason, but she wasn ' t quite ready for an event that would change her life forever. Kirsten Butler didn ' t know how to tell her parents, so she didn ' t. Her mother could tell, but didn ' t say anything. Her father and brothers had no clue. Buder sdll kept silent. She was 22, single and pregnant. She and the father had broken up before she learned of the pregnancy. It wasn ' t planned. She wasn ' t ready. In the coming months, she thought long BALANCING ACT For some students, college doesn ' t consist of just CLASSES, sleep AND PARTIES. FOR SOME, IT INCLUDES THE responsibilities of PARENTHOOD. written by SALIMEH SHAMALY photographed by DARRELL BLAKELY and hard, trying to decide the future for her and her unborn child. It was a very trying time, she said as she looked away for a moment. I was raised in a Christian environment. I didn ' t think I could handle school, work and a child. But Buder finally made a tough decision. Fearing she would not be able to adequately provide for her child, she decided to give her son up for adoption. There are so many people out there that would love to have a child and can ' t, Butler said. A lot of them are well-off and would be able to provide more for my child than I. But before she finished the adoption process, she finally told her mother the secret that had been growing inside her for the past few months. Buder said her mother cried, her sisters cried, and she cried. She sdU feared the reaction and possible rejecdon from her father. I didn ' t know what he would say, she said. I had my mother tell him. But she wasn ' t rejected, she was embraced with love. Her parents said they would help her in every way, so long as she kept her child. She did. Butler is now 24, a seventh-year senior history major at Ole Miss, a front desk employee at the Days Inn and a single mother raising her 21 -month-old son William with the help of her close-knit Christian family. There ' s a reason for everything, Butler said as she tried to grab hold of WiUiam as he ran around the room. I may not have been able to see it right away, but I see it now. She says she has learned a lot about responsibility and patience, qualities she did not have before William ' s arrival. Throughout her struggle, Buder never considered abortion and hopes her story will inspire other girls in similar situations. There ' s a reason why every chUd is conceived, she said. It ' s a miracle. There may be flaws with adoption, but at least the child will have a life and a chance to do something. With an abortion, the child will never get that chance. Though she misses some of the things she used to do before she got pregnant, she said she wouldn ' t change anything for the world. He is my life now, Buder said as she grinned at William. When it comes right down to it, he ' s more important than anything. Student Life | 49

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j DELTA KAPPA EPSILON I fraternity and guests anxiously watch the 2004 presidential results on election night President George W. Bush and his father are alumni of the fraternity. Student Life | 51