Vibe-check from the election night event at Samfunnet
Vibe-check from the election night event at Samfunnet
Why the hell are we not doing this more often?
Decisions are difficult, as we concluded in the previous edition of Tuntréet. But whether we like it or not, we still have to deal with it, regardless of how long we try to postpone dealing with it. On September 8th, we could no longer hide; it was time to make one of the biggest decisions that us Norwegians can make, electing a new Parliament. Come along, as we deliver Tuntréet´s report on the election night event at Samfunnet!
Journalist: Hanna Lindeman
Translator: Michelle Grabarska
Photographer: Eline Marie Alm
As the undersigned walks up Samfunnet´s stairs, there is clearly an active evening here at the house. Not only is there an election night watch party, but it seems that half of all the associations in Ås, have squeezed themselves in every little room on this particular evening. Auditions and rehearsals are taking turns, with varying luck. Just imagine the difficulities with auditioning for your dream choir at the same time as someone else is blasting “Bailando” as their warm-up dance in the room next to you. Rosehagen is packed – and I mean packed – with students battling for the spot in DÅs, just so they can twerk on stage along with them. The undersigned does not understand why they didn’t just apply for the position of becoming responsible for the Game Pages. Anyways, back to more important matters.
Festsalen has been set up for a party that’s a bit different than usual. Sofas, extra tables and chairs have all been put out, along with distractions such as crosswords, quizzes and of course, the best election night bingo of all time (courtesy of Tuntreét, of course). Before the event really kicks off at 21 o’clock, the Head of Marketing, Sivert, walks up on stage to get a feel for the mood.There, he casts a poll on the big screen, where the first question asks people if they’re ready for the election night event. Luckily, the majority are “READY AS FU- ”, while I, myself fall under (mildly) “STRESSED”. You can just wonder what the others are up to. I hope they’re spending their time nicely either way. Besides, the vote distribution in the hall would make former NLH-students turn around in their graves, as the poll resulted one single vote for Senterpartiet (The Centre Party). SV (The Socialist Left Party) and MDG (The Green Party) dominated the polls, which makes it clear that a right-wing party would not be well received here. Except for that rascal who wishes Sylvi Listhaug for Prime Minister, keep dreaming buddy.
As the polling station closes at 21 o’clock, NRK rolls out their first prognose, and the expected cheers break out in the hall, as there is an obvious red-green lead, once again. KrF (Christian Democratic Party) is about to cross the electoral threshold, FrP (The Progress Party) achieved a huge win, unsurprisingly, SV suffers a slight setback and MDG goes from having one to eight mandates in Parliament. The fact that Venstre (The Liberal Party) doesn’t cross the electoral threshold, breaks out a big applause from an excited soul somewhere in the hall. After getting a look on Høyre’s (The Conservative Party) election event, the disappointed expressions were noticeable, as they haven’t done this bad in twenty years. Ouch.
I, on the other hand, am more concerned about Klubben closing soon, but I’m also thrilled that TT’s very own distributor Tonje, is setting up a sales booth in the corner of the function hall. The party is not over, there are drinks still left, (mis)quoting DeLillos. Once the nerves have settled after the first prognosis, it’s just a matter of sitting back and watching the circus unfold. During the evening, we are going through several parties’ election events, and lots of people can happily check of boxes on their bingo cards as the evening continues. Arild Hermstad pulls out a vegetable again: check. Both Jonas and Jens are wearing red ties: check. Anyone speaking about the electoral threshold: check x 100 000.
The vibe is great, and the chill factor is high in the hall. Several people brought their own snacks, and can I see multiple tables with people playing either Uno or regular cards to pass the time in between the rounds. There is a great variety of outfits here as well, some people went with a more comfortable style, while others came well dressed to the function. Now, I don’t know if they’re hoping it will tip the election in their favor, but I always appreciate a well put together outfit either way. It’s 22:30, 99% of the votes have been counted and half of the hall already went home. I can just assume that they are pleased, and that they can now focus on making it till tomorrow’s lecture at 8:00. Even though it’s dark outside now, my mood is still bright, because even if I didn’t get bingo, I’ve realized one thing: Why the hell are we not doing this more often?
Samfunnet is way more than just party nights and revues. To just meet up like this feels so good – so right. What happened to the Samfunnet that we knew as the students’ gathering place, rather than just a party venue. Show me football or Formula 1 on the big screen. Give me a ridicules movie, where I can half-pay attention to while I’m unsuccessfully trying to get away with doing some schoolwork. Give me a place where it is normalized to just walk up to strangers and have a chat. A place where it’s natural to attend alone, because you’ll always be welcomed by someone as soon as you enter. Give me a third place between the reading hall and the dorm where we can gather and talk, flirt, drink (in moderation), joke, discuss and get rid of this damned loneliness.
Make Samfunnet chill again!
