As the polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Eastern students settled down and got back to their daily lives.

“Besides voting there is nothing we can do,” said Nicole Charleton, a freshman biology major, as she watched TV in the basement of Andrews Hall.

Charleton and her friend, Sara McMahon, a freshman biology major, said they were switching back and forth between the show “One Tree Hill” and the election coverage.

Some students watched the election coverage, and some chose not to because they didn’t care or because they had other things to do.

“A friend next to me just thinks his vote really doesn’t matter,” said Paul Webb, a sophomore math and computer science major with teacher certification. Webb, a resident of Taylor Hall, said his friend and neighbor thinks voting doesn’t directly affect him.

Taylor Hall hosted karaoke Tuesday during the election coverage. According to Monica Struzzi, a sophomore family and consumer science major who was working the front desk, nobody realized the coverage and the karaoke would happen at the same time.

Struzzi said she wanted to watch the coverage and planned to keep it playing in the background on mute.

“A lot of people have to be down here,” Struzzi said, including herself.

A group of students were playing pool close to the television. Becca Finks, a resident assistant in Taylor Hall, said the networks were trying to call the election too early. She, and others, planned on tuning in later in the night.

All was quiet in Lawson Hall; two girls played the piano, and others studied.

Andrews Hall looked the same; a quiet atmosphere good for studying.

In the lobby of Stevenson Hall, about 20 people tuned into the election coverage.

“We had a SACIS program. The presenter was nice enough to cut it short to watch the election coverage,” said AJ Martin, a sophomore political science major and RA in Douglas Hall.

Martin, who attended the meeting in Stevenson, said he had been updating the election results on his dry-erase board on his door all night.

“We were treating it like a football game,” he said, cheering for the different states.

About 15 Delta Chi members sat in their chapter room watching the coverage, while at least 20 others watched in their rooms. Also, in Greek Court, members of Delta Sigma Phi watched in their chapter room.

The Black Student Union had a meeting and gathered in the African-American Cultural Center to watch the election together. Of the 30 people who came to the meeting, about 15 Kerry fans stayed, socializing, snacking and watching eagerly to get an idea of who might be the next president of the United States.