Syracuse University will host a presidential inauguration viewing in Schine Student Center today.

The doors to Schine’s 1,500-person Goldstein Auditorium will open at 10:45 a.m., and free tickets are available at the Schine box office.

The program begins at 11:15 a.m. with welcome speeches by Thomas Wolfe, senior vice president and dean of student affairs, and Larry Seivert, president of Syracuse University’s Student Association. Wolfe said he hopes for a diverse group of people to watch President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration.

‘I want to get people in touch with the fact there are groups gathering across the country, and that an unprecedented number of people have flocked to Washington,’ said Wolfe. ‘This is going to be the most-viewed inauguration in history, around the globe.’ For Wolfe, the most significant aspect of today is that the United States is swearing in the first black president. It’s a historic event, he said, and something he thinks students should watch together. ‘It always means something more when you’re in a room and you feel the energy of the event with other people,’ he said.

Professors are encouraged to let their students watch the ceremony, he said. Wolfe’s own wife is a graduate student in social work, and although she has class during that time, her professor plans to let the students watch the inauguration activities.

But what strikes him most is that this inauguration seems to be a nonpartisan celebration. Nayab Khan, a senior international relations and Middle Eastern studies major, said she expects a positive reaction, even from those who aren’t Obama supporters.

‘You don’t have to necessarily agree with someone or like their policies, but you can still be supportive of them,’ she said. ‘It’s going to be a historic event, something we’ll look back at years and years from now. I’m excited to be a part of the inauguration, and I’m really looking forward to it.’

Kahn remembers the excitement of election night back in November. She was stuck in her room, studying for an exam, while students gathered on the Quad and on South Campus in celebration. This time, Kahn said, she’ll be in Schine so she can be part of that celebration.

Corey Robinson, a sophomore television, radio and film major, will be in class during the ceremonies. But that doesn’t bother him, he said.

‘The inauguration ceremonies are just a formality, so that doesn’t mean all that much to me. But we’ll see,’ Robinson said. ‘It’s a politician, so I don’t usually put a lot of faith in them. But hopefully Obama will turn some of the ridiculous decisions around that Bush made these past few years.’ Though many students said professors should cancel class for a few hours during the event, Robinson said it should be up to each professor.

Jobs are another commitment keeping students from attending inauguration celebrations. Trishana Wright, a senior finance major, has to work during the ceremonies, but said she would have attended the Schine viewing. ‘I think it’s something to pay attention to, and I think it’s going to allow students to pay more attention to politics, as well as the economy,’ Wright said. ‘I think this is one of the outlets that will definitely gather a large crowd.’

Her younger brother will be in Washington, playing the tuba in the Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band, one of the two bands selected to play at the celebrations. She’s more excited for the inauguration than he is, she joked.

Wright said she thinks Obama will speak about how difficult it will be for him to solve many of the nation’s problems. She’d like him to address slowly getting out of the war, solving the economic crisis, and helping the job market. She’ll be entering it when she graduates in May, and she hopes it will be in a more stable position then than it is now. Abigail Lambert, a freshman in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said today is the day that she hopes will epitomize a turning point for the country.

‘Not only is it a new president coming in and a time for change in this economic turmoil, it’s a moment in history that’s going to be remembered in books forever,’ she said. Lambert said she thinks the university should have canceled classes so students can watch the inauguration, and so the younger generation can be aware of these political events.

‘I have a lot of faith that because he’s more ‘our generation,’ that he’s going to listen to new ideas and hopefully help us get out of the economic crisis right now,’ she said. ‘I hope he can change things for the better.’

shmelike@syr.edu

Published on January 19, 2009 at 12:00 pm