Page 21 - Sphere No.23 (Dec 2008)

SPHERE 21
Democratic and Republican parties,
education, and abortion.
As police patrolled to ensure order
among the protesters, Shantou student
Zheng Jialiang noted the differences
between American and Chinese law en-
forcement. “I don’t get many chances to
talk to police in China, and in Denver I
was able to talk with a lot of them,” he
said. “Although the police were cautious
because of the political figures, they
would still engage in conversation and
talk about their gear and weapons. I also
saw a lot of helicopters patrolling in the
sky. This was another security measure
that I had not seen much of in China.”
Without time to catch their breath, the
students packed their bags in Denver and headed to the Excel En-
ergy Center in St Paul, Minnesota, the site of the Republican Na-
tional Convention, where delegates experienced the effects of two
storms, one named Gustav and the other Sarah Palin, the Gover-
nor of Alaska and Republican candidate for Vice President.
Hurricane Gustav reached land on the
first day of the convention in the Gulf
Coast and caused damage in the states of
Louisiana and Texas, andMississippi. Be-
fore the storm hit, Republican Party lead-
ers decided to modify and delay activities
out of respect to those who were at risk.
While the hurricane put the conven-
tion on hold, it failed to dampen the
spirits of delegates for long, particularly
after Governor Palin arrived and, as one
student observed, electrified the con-
vention with her acceptance speech.
“Sarah Palin created a reaction that
was unlike anything I had ever seen in
my short time watching the political
system,” said Utah student Jed Layton. “I
was surprised by John McCain’s choice but was more surprised
by the overwhelming positive reception from the Republican
National Convention. She created a change in the political at-
mosphere, more than Hurricane Gustav would have if it had
struck St Paul.”
Getting both sides of the story:
(opposite page) Jelen Zheng Jialiang
reports from Strongville, Ohio.
(Clockwise from top left) Interviewing
members of the public in New
York and Washington; Joe Biden
with Shantou student Masa Ma
Jing; a Republican rally in
Sterling, Virginia.
FINDING OBAMA
Barack Obama talks about his favourite
restaurant, MacArthur’s, in his book The
Audacity of Hope. The restaurant is onWest
Madison Street, on Chicago’s northwest
side. This Sunday morning MacArthur’s is
filled with black churchgoers from a lo-
cal church and families from afar. Maurice
Gaiter, the restaurant manager, said before
Obama’s presidential bid the family often
dined here. “We’ve known each other for
four years now and we would talk on the
phone once every two months and ask
how the other’s doing.” Gaiter believed
this presidential election would have the
biggest African-American turn-out yet.
“They will help him make history,” he said
– Hua Qi, Zheng Jialiang,
GaoWenhuan and Gong Jietong