The thrill of the last semester of their college careers clouding their minds, seniors experienced quite an extraordinary event, and one that they will never forget.
On Jan. 20, 2009, the newly-elected President of the United States, Barack Obama, was sworn in. This is an important event every four years, but the 2009 inauguration was unique in one important way- the new president was a black man.
“I had never really cared about [watching the inaugurations] before, but there was so much behind this election, so I felt pretty honored that I was able to watch the first black president get inaugurated,” said Bobby Pearson, a sophomore psychology major, who watched the inauguration at a friend’s house. “It really shows the big turn around our country has gone through.”
A&M allowed students to watch the inauguration on the jumbotron in Kyle Field. Like many students, senior finance major Jessica Gilks was not able to watch the event live because she was in class for the first day of the 2009 spring semester.
“It was not the outcome I was hoping for, but I am eager to see what Obama is capable of doing for our country,” Gilks said. “For all we know now, he could do great things for us. Time will tell.”
Last year’s election saw an increase in the involvement of college students in campaigning for both Democrats and Republicans. Actress Kate Walsh was invited to speak at a rally for President Obama, and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee played bass during a presentation days before the Texas Primary.
Some A&M students threw their “nest eggs” at a poster of Obama’s face at a controversial campaign event put on by the Young Conservatives of Texas. The group replaced the target with a list of goals after protests from students and pressure from the administration. The event made headlines nationwide.
Sophomore political science major Sidney Vand made phone calls to an online list of likely Democratic voters, encouraging them to vote.
“The general election campaign was sort of anti-climatic after the stressful primaries,” Vand said. “I watched the election returns in Waco at the Chet Edwards party. It was so exciting being in a room full of excited democrats. There were people crying, and everyone was cheering.”
First time voters, including students and new citizens, made up 11 per cent of voters, according to CNN.com. Sixty-nine percent of these new voters voted for Obama.
Obama rang in his first 100 days as President in April.
“Economically I don’t think much has been solved yet, however 100 days isn’t much time to turn around a recession as large as the one we are currently in,” Gilks said. “In regards to the war in Iraq, I think most people are misguided when they hear Obama talk about getting troops out of Iraq. As far as I know, he … [is] just repositioning them in other countries such as Afghanistan.”
Gilks did not vote for Obama but said it does not help to sit back and criticize.
“Although some of my thoughts on issues are very different than his, my feelings on our new president are definitely not solidified,” Gilks said. “Until he does something to give me reason to very much like or dislike him, I am just waiting, and hoping that he will prove to be a great leader.”