DOHA: The Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) and the US Embassy in Doha hosted a special gathering in the early hours yesterday to mark the US Presidential elections.
Keen to watch the final hours of the much debated election race between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, SFS-Q students, faculty, staff and Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) guests, gathered with staff from the embassy from midnight through 9am to witness the final moments of the election campaign as it unfolded live in the US. The Embassy staff distributed election year materials including US Electoral College posters, bumper stickers, sample ballots, I-voted stickers, copies of the electronic journal “Youth Votes 2012 US Elections”, election pins, and flags to attendees representing each political party.
Approximately 50 students from all campuses in HBKU stayed up all night with a dozen faculty and staff form Georgetown and the Embassy joining them.
In the early morning at about 6:00am, an additional contingent of faculty and staff joined the festivities bringing the total to about 120 people in an atmosphere of collegial election year excitement. The crowd of students and staff cheered rowdily as victories were projected state by state.
The Peninsula
