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Somber mood at Kamala Harris’s alma mater Howard University as hopes for victory dim

At Kamala Harris’s watch party at Howard University in the nation’s capital on Tuesday night, the mood among students, faculty and alumni became somber as the night wore on, as their hopes that Harris could possibly become the first president to graduate from a Historically Black College and University dimmed.

Earlier in the evening, the Howard community was preparing for a historic moment. On Georgia Avenue in Washington DC, a long line of supporters stretched down the street as people gathered after casting their vote. Among them was Jayy Jones, the Howard University student association president, who was attempting to soak in the moment.

“This is insane,” he said. “Howard University is a pivotal place for civic engagement and the continuance of civic activism, and for us to be here on the Yard during this pivotal time in history is just amazing. And to be sitting here as student body president is nothing more and nothing short of amazing, and I’m nothing but grateful.”

Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics. She launched her first campaign on the campus when she ran for freshman class representative, and returned in 2019 to announce her presidential run in for the 2020 election cycle. Harris also used the campus as the site to prepare for her August debate against Donald Trump.

“I have so many fond memories as a student at ‘The Mecca,’” Harris wrote this month to The Hilltop, the student newspaper, “I recognize that Howard shaped me into the person I am today.”

The Yard, Howard’s gathering spot, was full of celebration earlier in the evening as onlookers followed political projections.

Doreen Hogans, 50, said she was feeling hopeful. She pulled a string of pearls from her pocket. The necklace belonged to her late mother. Hogans’s eyes glistened: “She would have been so proud.”

All around her, students and supporters filled Howard’s The Yard. They danced as the music pulsed. There were a mix of cheers and boos and CNN made a series of race calls.

When CNN declared Harris the winner of Washington DC and Maryland, Chelsea Chambers clasped hands with Kelo Torres and cheered. The women wore sashes – Miss District of Columbia Teen USA and Miss District of Columbia USA respectively.

Chambers, 19 and a sophomore at Howard, voted for the first time this year. “To see a woman become president, I’m like, I can do anything after that,” the aspiring sports journalist said.

Michele Fuller attended Howard at the same time as Harris – the future vice-president was a year ahead of her. “It feels unbelievable,” Fuller said, as she walked into Harris’s election night watch party at their alma mater. “She’s just done so great. And she’s more than qualified. I’m just so excited.”

Asked if she ever imagined Harris would one day be standing on the cusp of history, Fuller said: “No – never. But once she became the vice-president, I knew it. I knew it.”

Benjamin Talton, the director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, said Harris becoming the first president to graduate from an HBCU and to host a campaign watch party on the campus stands alone in its significance.

“It hasn’t fully sunk in yet. It feels incredible to be here – the energy is so high, there’s a buzz, an excitement. But as a historian, I can’t help but reflect on the many historic moments I’ve witnessed on Howard’s campus, from my time as an undergraduate to now as a professor. It’s never surprising when there are historic events at Howard,” Talton said.

Read more of the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage