O Fortuna, ye who spins your wheel to decide the fate of those who would seek the highest office in the land. And o mainstream media, ye whose color-coordinated interactive maps and expertly crafted graphics enrapture the most Butler-weary soul.

As of 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, the Lerner piano lounge was filled with nearly 100 students who arrived in their political finest (suit jackets and tucked-in casual wear) to bear witness to the spectacle of Super Tuesday. Sponsored by the Columbia Political Union, along with the Dems and the Republicans, the event brought out supporters of Obama, Clinton, and, apparently, Romney, who camped out like teenage girls waiting for Backstreet Boys tickets circa 1999 to see which candidate would sweep nearly half the states in the union.

Chris Daniels, CC’09, veep of the Dems, said his group represented both Clinton and Obama supporters, though, he commented, “There’s definitely more of a presence of Obama supporters on campus, they seem to be more fervent.”

Marisa Gorovitz, BC’10, a Democrat supporter, was camped next to the small circle of College Republicans that claimed the Northwest corner of the room. The most humorous event of the night as of 8:30, she claimed, occurred when, “someone made a funny reaction when it was announced that Hillary Clinton won Oklahoma… like oh Oklahoma!”

The Republicans themselves proved reticent, with refusals to speak with a Bwog reporter and nary a word but an extemporaneously gleeful cry of of “Go Romney!” from one GOP member.

The room was full of quick-typing bloggers, emailers, and homework do-ers, in addition to Aaron Goodman, a UPenn sophomore who had been sent from the Daily Pennsylvanian with a team that included “a reporter, a photographer, and a videographer,” another set of which had been dispatched to Princeton. “Our primary isn’t until, like, April…” he offered by way of explanation.

CPU general manager Alastair Shearman, SEAS’08, was pleased with the turnout. “This is the biggest event we’ve had… It’s a festive atmosphere,” he said, grinning and then looking back at his computer, where he was checking the stats. “I put my projections up on Facebook, if you want to look at that,” he advised. 

Over at the computers in the room, Marc Castaneda, CC’09, frantically checked the New York Times and CNN.com websites against the coverage of CNN on the television. “I’m listening to it in my ear and checking it online at the same time,” he said. “I get really obsessive about elections. I should be a pollster.” A man next to him swore, “fuck…fuck” under his breath when it was announced that Hillary had pulled through in New York state.

Jason Eckstein, SEAS’09, was unimpressed by the statistical methodologies espoused by Wolf Blitzer and his cohorts on the tube. “They have a big check that says who won and the votes haven’t even been counted,” he said in disgust.

Nick Serpe, CC’10, read Leviathan while keeping an eye on the action. “It’s like watching an ice cube melt,” he quipped, adding, “I just wish Hobbes was running for president, but I don’t know how he would feel about representative democracy. He would probably just declare martial law.” He added that Anderson Cooper should consider a run, which would be fabulous.

–KER