THE UNIVERSITY HARY IGANSAN
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21, 2009
NEWS
3A
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009
ELECTION 2008
Students watch inauguration in class, at university centers
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan
For some KU students, Tuesday's class was just another day from the syllabus. Yet for a number of others, instructors opted to clear the class schedule in order to televise the inauguration of Barack Obama, the nation's 44th president.
Stephen Ilardi, associate professor of psychology, said he decided to show the inauguration in his psychology class of more than 300 students because of its historical magnitude. The class before Ilardi's was canceled, allowing Ilardi to invite his students to come in early to watch the entire inauguration.
"I am careful not to push my political opinion on my class," Ilardi said, "but I do think it's important to see historical events and understand them."
Joshua Brown, Longmont, Colo,
senior, watched the inauguration in his psychology class. Brown said being African-American made him proud to see Obama become president. He said he was unsure about Obama at the beginning of the election but ended up voting for him.
"In the end he turned into something better for the country," Brown said. "It's a new chapter in America."
The KU Honors Program watched the inauguration at the Nunemaker Center on its large TV, welcoming students to stop by to watch the ceremony on their way to or from classes. The center was able to accommodate students because technology added since the presidential inauguration following the 2004 election. Sandra Wick, associate director of the Honors Program,
said she wanted to watch the ina-
guration for its significance.
"I think all of us as staff and faculty here are very interested in it," Wick said.
Celebrations were held throughout Lawrence for the inauguration as well, including a show at the Granada on Tuesday night. Granada Marketing Director Jake Hiersteiner, a KU graduate from Kansas City, Kan., said the bar would broadcast video of President Obama's inauguration speech, followed by performances from four local bands.
"We got together with Lawrence com. Mixtape Soundlab and MoveOn.org to have an event." Hiersteiner said, "because we all feel it is a cause for celebration."
Edited by Chris Horn
ELECTION 2008
Alex Bopham-Carter/KANSAN
Gates Brown, Lansing graduate student, is studying U.S. military history and U.S. history. Brown, a Captain in the U.S. Army, suffered a shattered leg in 2007 when an improvised explosive device detonated under his Humvee. Brown plans to teach military history to Army cadets after completing his degree.
Obama's cabinet gives KU vets hope
BY BETSY CUTCLIFF
bcutcliff@kansan.com
Tuesday marked the inauguration of a president whom some KU veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan see as a critical component in framing the future of the Middle East.
Experiences in the region brought different concerns for the veterans, but they agreed that Obama's selection of retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones as his National Security Adviser greatly increased the president's odds at achieving stability.
Felix Zacharias, Wichita junior and Marine Corps sergeant, said having the retired general behind the president gave him confidence the right decisions were being made on the behalf of the soldiers.
Obama's other cabinet picks, Hillary Clinton as secretary of state and Robert Gates as secretary of defense, also bolstered the confidence of Army Capt. Gates Brown, Lansing graduate student. Brown served in Iraq during the second half of 2006, until an explosion destroyed his Humvee and shattered his right leg in January 2007.
Though former National Security Advisers Condoleeza Rice and Stephen Hadley had plenty of experience dealing with the diplomatic parts of foreign policy issues, Zacharias said having actual military experience in combat would enable Gen. Jones to make better decisions concerning the welfare of troops and to limit casualties on the ground.
Dan Parker, McPherson senior and former Marine, said Gen. Jones' experience with NATO would play a key role in repairing bonds with European countries.
Gen. Jones served 40 years in the Marines, including operations in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and the Balkans before finishing his career as the commander of NATO.
"I trust Gen. Jones and how he thinks," Zacharias said. "He understands how it feels to fight and how it feels to get hurt and how it feels to be in combat."
But while Iraq and its stability have been the focus of media clamor surrounding the President's
future foreign policy, both Brown and Parker agreed that Afghanistan should be the primary issue on the President's foreign policy plate.
"Afghanistan is where the violence started." Parker said. "Right now there is a lot more potential for things to go wrong there than in Iraq."
But on the home front, one concern of Army veteran William Stewart, Los Angeles senior, is the allocation of defense funds through the next four years.
Stewart, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, works to help veterans achieve success outside the military and educate others on the policies that directed military action. Stewart said he wanted to see more veterans getting the help they needed after returning home,
"I think we are wasting money that could be useful elsewhere," Stewart said. "I think the money we're paying to private contractors should come back home for veterans' programs."
Although there may be a gap in the amount of returning soldiers who need help and the amount who actually receive it, Parker said shortfalls for veterans programs weren't in funding but in access.
especially with readjusting to life back home and coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In terms of marketing, Parker said reaching the proper audience would take a countless amount of funds because of the diversity in age range and physical demographics of veterans.
The Department of Veterans Affairs "doesn't have the means to really put the word out there about what's available," Parker said.
KU veterans said they were confident in the next administration as long as Obama listened to his advisers and acted in the best interests of the men and women of the military and the people at home who relied on their service.
Edited by Chris Horn
ELECTION 2008
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama, left, is congratulated by Chief Justice John Roberts after taking the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Tuesday, flanked by first lady Michelle Obama.
Obama makes it official
More than a million people attend the president's inauguration
BY TERENCE HUNT Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Stepping into history, Barack Hussein Obama grasped the reins of power as America's first black president on Tuesday, declaring the nation must choose "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord" to overcome the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
In frigid temperatures, an exuberant crowd of more than a million packed the National Mall and parade route to celebrate Obama's inauguration in a high-noon ceremony. Waving and cheering in jubilation, they stretched from the inaugural platform at the U.S. Capitol toward the Lincoln Memorial in the distance.
With 11 million Americans out of work and trillions of dollars lost in the stock market's tumble, Obama emphasized that his biggest challenge was to repair the tattered economy left behind by outgoing President George W. Bush.
"Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed," Obama said. "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin the work of remaking America."
Obama wove a thread of personal responsibility and accountability through his inaugural address. He spoke of a "new era of responsibility" and alluded to the inability — or unwillingness — of Americans to adjust to the passing of an industrial-based economy.
"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age," he said.
Obama's election was cheered around the world as a sign that America will be more embracing, more open to change. "To the Muslim world," Obama said, "we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
Still, he bluntly warned, "To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy."
"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to uncleach your fist," Obama said in his address, which ran 18½ minutes.
The dawn of the new Democratic era ends eight years of Republican control of the White House by Bush, who leaves Washington as one of the nation's most unpopular presidents, the architect of two unfinished wars and the man in charge at a time of economic calamity.
In his speech, Obama said all Americans had roles in rebuilding the nation by renewing the traditions of hard work, honesty and fair play, tolerance, loyalty and patriotism.
Contradicting the objections of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to big government, Obama
said, "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works."
"Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened. ... Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."
Bush — following tradition left a note for Obama in the top drawer of his desk in the Oval Office.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said the theme of the message — which Bush wrote on Monday — was similar to what he has said since election night: that Obama is about to begin a "fabulous new chapter" in the United States, and that he wishes him well.
Just after noon, Obama stepped forward on the West Front of the Capitol to lay his left hand on the same Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration in 1861. The 35-word oath of office, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, has been uttered by every president since George Washington.
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