President Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 presidential election transformed the racial identities of black college students, according to a study by University researchers published at the end of November.After collecting data from African American students at Cornell and the State University of New York at Buffalo, Thomas Fuller-Rowell grad ’10 showed that the collective experience of the election prompted more individuals to identify themselves in terms of their race.According to Fuller-Rowell’s research, participants exhibited increases in their perceptions of public regard — the extent to which they feel their race is well liked — following Barack Obama’s electoral victory.“Public regard is an interesting dimension because, historically, it has been very low among African American communities,” said Prof. Anthony Burrow, human development, co-author of the study. “So to see increases on this particular dimension is not only interesting, it’s really profound.”Tony Montgomery ’13, president of the Cornell Democrats, said that while he was not surprised by the study’s results, he was interested in the level of intensity that college students expressed for a presidential candidate.“For me, as an African American, I took a lot of pride in that election,” Montgomery said.