The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 1/21/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Brandon Iwamoto Sophomore business majors Molly Dunkle, left, and Justine Knight applaud President Barack Obama as he is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States during an Inauguration Watch Party in the Ramskellar on Tuesday morning.

Members of the CSU community eagerly packed into the Ramskeller Tuesday morning to catch a glimpse of the inauguration of President Barack Obama. As he approached the podium, the dimly lit bar erupted in cheers and applause as more than 200 students, faculty and alumni rushed for seats in the overcrowded bar.

Those who could not fit inside gathered in the exterior dining area and lounge in the basement of the Lory Student Center. Many sat, some stood.

As he took the stage, Obama immediately addressed the seriousness and difficulties that lay ahead in the future of the country, which he described as "gathering clouds and raging storms." He also said that he would work to remove the troops stationed in Iraq, and that he wants to better relations between America and the Islamic world.

"I feel like it is a new beginning, a new chance for America to be a better country," said Monica Harris, a senior languages, literatures and cultures major, as Obama gave his address.

She said she was not surprised at the generous amount of support Obama was receiving at CSU.

"I think that as college students at CSU, we are a democratic society and we all felt that this was a time for a change," she said. "I feel like we followed (Obama) along his journey to the White House, and he is finally there."

Other students, though they did not vote for Obama, said that they were able to accept his nomination and would support him as president.

"I didn't vote for Obama, but now that he's president, he has my full support, and I hope that he can overcome the crises ahead," said freshman mechanical engineering major Ivan Dzintars.

"You've got to give him credit; he's a great speaker and he knows how to motivate," Dzintars said.

Others were less optimistic about America's future and the transition of power.

"Should I be excited about the rise of socialism?" freshman John Scott asked a friend in his dorm room after the event. "No. I'm genuinely concerned with the future of America. But I really am hoping to be proven wrong. I'm going to give the new president my full support and hopefully he does a good job."

Staff writer Tyler Oakland can be reached at news@collegian.com.

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