Washington: The Howard University on Tuesday looked forward to hosting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris for her election night watch party. This marks the first time in modern history that a presidential election night event will be hosted on a college campus. Harris graduated from Howard University with a bachelor's degree in 1986.
Nigel Jhonson, a law student at Howard University, is upbeat about the event. “It is a momentous occasion. You always love to see your alumni, and your classmates doing big things. It is an honour to have the world here and the world to know the type of people the university produces. We produce leaders and the world ought to know that Howard University is synonymous with leadership," Jhonson told PTI.
Jade, a freshman at Howard who thinks Harris' election will help the college get prominence, said: “It feels great to have the spotlight on us and having alumni like the Vice President of US. I feel like it shows the university produces good students. This is history being created right here." Ben, who lives in the neighbourhood, said they were stoked about the fact that Harris could be the next US President. “It is very cool that we may have the first female president from the university."
The campus has been transformed as it prepares to host Harris and her running mate Tim Walz. The election is being seen as one of the tightest presidential races in the last several decades with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pitched against her. If Harris wins the race, she will become the first woman and the first person of South Asian descent to become the US President.
Harris, known primarily for embracing her Black identity as her Father is of Jamaican descent, also occasionally reflects on her Indian roots, particularly the influence of her mother who hailed from Tamil Nadu in India.
