This content was published: November 7, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Going old-school on election night
Photos and story by Dana Haynes
The above photo, courtesy of Russell Banks, shows the collected brain trust of Portland Community College on election night, trying to answer the question: Did we win?
We’d gathered at a bar in north Portland – the idea of watching election results sans liquor had been vetoed – only to realize that the only TVs in the room were glued to CNN and coverage of the presidential race. Who knew there was a presidential race, too?
We, of course, wanted to know if PCC’s bond measure was passing.
So we went old-school. I went online with my MacBook and District Vice President Randy McEwen, right, used my steno pad. We went to all five counties’ election Web sites and tallied the votes.
I also answered a slew of phone calls from journalists who were doing the exact same thing at their desks. “What number do you have?” I’d shout over the crowd noise. “Yeah? That’s what we got, too! I said: that’s what we got, too!”
Turns out, we could have saved ourselves some tsoris. We wouldn’t know for sure that we won until Thursday morning. Still, it was a blast.
Send your feedback to dana.haynes@pcc.edu. And thanks in advance.
About Dana Haynes
Dana Haynes, joined PCC in 2007 as the manager of the Office of Public Affairs, directing the college's media and government relations. Haynes spent the previous 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for Oregon newspapers, including ... more »