"Vote today!"
So shouted a student in a "Barack the Vote" shirt outside Hill College House yesterday, reminding students to vote in the highly-anticipated Pennsylvania primary.
But despite the Illinois senator's strong grassroots campaign in Philadelphia and enthusiasm from young voters - 72 percent of voting Penn students chose Obama - that widespread activism wasn't enough yesterday, as New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was victorious in the state.
Clinton's 10-point margin of victory, however, fell far short of the nearly 20-point lead she once held in the state.
To narrow that gap, Obama embraced his role as a representation of a new generation in politics, led by young voters.
Yesterday, about 72 percent of Penn students who turned out voted for Obama.
"I think Penn itself is very heavily pro-Obama," said College senior and Penn for Obama volunteer Sofia Owen. "You can get a sense of that just walking around campus."
And yesterday, on primary day, this was certainly true. From pins or stickers on a bookbag to shirts and signs, Penn students demonstrated their support for Obama on Locust Walk and around campus.
"After eight years of a president that many people are against, the young generation is sick of seeing this happen," said College freshman Nate Adler. "We've lived through two Bush terms, two Clinton terms, and another Bush term before that - young people want something new."
Wharton freshman Jessica Stewart agreed, saying that with the "experience versus change" theme of the primary, "young people can identify with not having a lot of experience but still being ready for the job," she said.
And while Obama's message of hope for a fundamental change in Washington resonates with young voters in particular, many Obama volunteers on campus say this isn't the primary reason they're behind him.
"Everybody talks about his great speeches and rhetoric," Owen said. "But he's not just rhetoric - and that really inspired me."
Penn for Obama co-president and Wharton graduate student Julian Harris agreed, saying that when young Obama supporters are asked about the reasons for their preference, they often focus specific policy ideas - like education or the war in Iraq - that pertain to the younger generation.
Harris spent the entire day yesterday in a room in Huntsman Hall, the "headquarters" for Penn for Obama. When students arrived to volunteer, he looked at a spreadsheet to determine which of the five "zones" on campus they should report to.
The headquarters was an example of the sophisticated ground organization that is characteristic of the Obama campaign.
When the results came in last night and the primary was called for Clinton, Obama responded at a rally in Evansville, Ind.
"I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on her victory tonight," he said. "She ran a terrific race."
Both Obama and his campaign supporters stressed the fact that, despite a loss in Pennsylvania, Obama significantly narrowed the gap in the polls in the past few weeks. This momentum, they argue, is seen as a victory in itself.
"No matter what the percentage difference in the vote totals are, I think [Obama] has done himself a lot of good in this state by being here and having people open up their hearts and their homes and their communities to him," said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who has endorsed Obama and was his most high-profile supporter in Pennsylvania.
Another Obama supporter U.S. Representative Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) - whose district includes Penn - said the youth vote was and will continue to be a major factor in Obama's electoral success.
"The Obama campaign has made it his business to reach out to young people, and they've responded," he said.
