February 5, 2008 was quite eventful. It was the day of the ticker-tape parade that celebrated the New York Giant’s Super Bowl victory. It was Super Tuesday. It was the end of one race and the beginning of another.

Over the past few decades, many states have held their presidential primaries on a day in February or March dubbed Super Tuesday. This year, 24 states—a record number—voted on February 5.

My mother, Ann Derry, Editorial Director for Video and Television for The New York Times, invited me to spend the evening at the paper’s headquarters. One would expect a flurry of activity at a newspaper’s offices as reporters frantically struggle to meet their deadlines, especially on Super Tuesday. But that evening, as I stepped off the elevator into the newsroom, my first impression was one of silence—the only sounds that greeted me were the isolated ringing of phones and taps on keyboards.

There was a notable lack of excitement in the newsroom, as if the journalists there had grown accustomed to watching history in the making. But the night was still young—states had not yet reported their results. As the paper prepared for the oncoming exit polls, not everything progressed as planned.

The video unit, while small, has grown in importance since its inception a few years ago. It produces short videos that accompany articles on nytimes.com, offering diverse means of communing with readers. I witnessed an impromptu meeting precipitated by the discovery that a certain amount of footage was missing its audio track. That problem was solved, but there were many more to go around.

“We’ve planned for six videos, and will probably only have three or four,” said Lisa Tozzi, Assistant Editor of Politics, at around 5:00 p.m. “We’ve already blown the deadline for the first by a few hours.”

Anticipation began to suffuse the newsroom as states started closing voting booths. Results came in at around 7:00 p.m., and were published online 15 minutes later. They were then updated every three minutes.

“People want numbers. We hope that what we do appeals to everybody. We’re breaking down the election for anyone,” Tozzi said. The term “anyone” made me wonder how many adolescents would actually tune in to election results.

Media outlets like YouTube and networking sites like Facebook and MySpace work for a greater young-voter turnout, and promote political awareness amongst those too young to vote. “Depending on the turnout of young voters, it will be evident whether those sites like Facebook have helped,” Tozzi said. The New York Times uses several outlets for its coverage, including YouTube: I helped upload videos to their YouTube account.

Although I’ve always been interested in politics, observing The New York Times on Super Tuesday made me realize how important our current election is. The day after Super Tuesday, there was still no clear Democratic frontrunner, although John McCain seems to be the Republican favorite. The next few months will determine our nation’s path for the next four years—or more.

When my mother and I left at 11:00 p.m., the newsroom was still abuzz with activity. Managing Editor Jill Abramson reviewed layouts for the next day’s paper. Journalists crowded around a desk and debated when to “call” the states – rather, when they would have enough information to declare a winner. The Layout department stretched police tape across their section’s entrance, as something of a joke, indicating that they did not want to be disturbed by the commotion.

The reporters’ late-night vivacity was both enlivening and enlightening: my previous disappointment at their lack of excitement was swept away as the ballot box results poured in. As night drew near, the newsroom was focused only on the election.

Most of us can’t vote yet, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care about politics. For the next few months, the attention of the country (and the rest of the world) will be focused on the U.S. presidential election. Will Stuyvesant students be paying attention as well?