By Lauren Cioffi

For many Republicans at Stony Brook University, their right to exercise their political affiliation only took place at the voting booth. Unlike some Democrats who proudly wore pins and held signs on campus cheering “Barack the Vote,” the Republicans were nowhere to be found.

Alex Chamessian, editor of the Patriot, explained the reason behind the silence of the Republican voice on campus. “There is a fear you hold to these Republican sentiments,” Chamessian said. “Unless you want to be ostracized by your peers.”

On election night, the College Republicans and students affiliated with the school's conservative newspaper, The Patriot, came together in the Student Activities Center Ballroom B to follow the election coverage on ABC News and to freely express their choice of candidate.

The numbers were small, about 20 to 30 students, but almost everyone voted for John McCain, and if they did not they were supportive for those who had. For most of the night, many students gritted their teeth and watched the projection screen facing the numbers, others didn’t bother to and conversed with other students.

But it seemed that some of the students who were members of the College Republicans came to terms with the idea of Barack Obama being president of the United States.

“I will love this country despite who the president is,” Chamessian said. “I will not denounce this country based on who the president is. When asked what he would do if Obama was elected president, Ben Edolati a senior and Political Science major said, “The sun will still come up.”

What is significant about the College Republicans was not its desire for McCain as a president, but its inability to express it throughout the course of this campaign. “If campus was evenly split there wouldn’t be a need for this” Edolati said.

Allison Goldberg, a junior and president of the College Republicans wore a McCain pin on her backpack throughout the course of the day. “I got a couple of dirty looks for that.”

Superficial dirty looks are only one of the many things that have kept republicans from being open about their views. Brittany Klenofsky and Kalya Lacci were friends for a while and never stated their political affiliation in fear the other would be critical of her republican views.

“You just rather not talk about it. Sometimes its not even with it,” Klenofsky said. Klenofsky’s sister, a teacher on Long Island, had her car keyed during the weeks of the election. “I can only assume its because she has a Sarah Palin sticker on her car.”

Cars seem to be the targets among Republican students. Edolati made a point to take his McCain and Palin sticker off his car before coming to class today. “I like my car, and would hate to see it get scratched up, especially for something as stupid as politics.”

For Edolati to make that call is neither an exaggeration nor an unnecessary precaution. Connor Harigan, a commuter at Stony Brook, found his car scratched with an upside down American Flag in the Stony Brook P Lot. He also had Republican bumper stickers on his car. These claims have never reached police record and have not been substantiated.

The idea that Republicans are feeling unable to express their views in a very liberal environment seemed to be a very big issue according to the conservative side. “It is unfortunate people feel that way,” Adam Peck, a Democrat and Obama supporter stated.

“We’ve been talking to McCain supporters all day.” Peck continued to say that when he was campaining in Pennsylvania, he also experienced political tensions between parties and found it difficult for him to exercise his political beliefs without being frowned upon.