Members of the Syracuse community and university gather at The Palace Theatre to watch Obama presidential nomination acceptance speech

Obama Speech Palace Theatre | August 29, 2008

DNC at the Palace Theater from The Daily Orange on Vimeo.

Denver wasn't the only city where cheering Democrats gathered Thursday evening.

Around 400 people from Central New York gathered at Palace Theater on James Street for a Democratic National Convention Watch party, and though two time zones away, they joined in the applause as Sen. Barack Obama accepted the democratic presidential nomination.

"I know it's going to be such a historical event," said Kelly D'Angelo, a freshman studying art history. "I'm so excited that in the future, this is going to be in textbooks."

D'Angelo was one student from Syracuse University who carpooled to Palace Theater with a new group on campus called SU Students for Barack Obama.

The student group met for a general interest meeting in the Hall of Languages an hour before heading to Palace Theater, where the doors opened at 8 p.m.

At the Convention Watch Party, the crowd could watch C-SPAN's coverage of the DNC, projected on the movie screen in the theater. The snack bar was open for business, as was a bar at the front of the theater. Volunteers handed out Obama stickers and pamphlets and voter registration forms were available.

Local democratic candidates were also on hand campaigning. Democratic Congressman Dan Maffei of New York's 25th district spoke during one of the breaks between speeches at the DNC, pledging his support to Obama.

One SU student said she supports Obama, but wasn't expecting much from his nomination acceptance speech.

"In any campaign really, most speeches are the same," said Andrea Delmar, sophomore in International Relations. "I think I could probably write Obama's speech for him."

Mike Short, a member of the Obama campaign who heads the SU Students for Barack Obama, also wasn't expecting anything too revolutionary from the speech. He said he thought the speech would reiterate what Obama has already said.

Short said SU Students for Barack Obama isn't officially recognized on campus and is operating under the College Democrats. He hopes to get students out into the community campaigning, and even wants them to help with campaign efforts in Pennsylvania, which could be a swing state in the November election, Short said.

"I think it's really great that they're getting together like this," said Adrienne Garcia, a junior English and Textual Studies major, about the student group for Obama. She attended the general interest meeting before venturing to the Palace Theater.

"It was a little hectic, but I think it's good they're trying to push for more student involvement in these type of events, especially because Obama speaks so much to the youth," she said.