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MUSICIAN
CLEANING UP GREENSBURG
Volunteers spend time in tornado-struck town 13A
JAYHAWKS BLOW PAST AGGIES IN FIELDHOUSE
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins led the way for Kansas with 16 points apiece 112A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 81
INAUGURATION
Political pilgrims pack D.C.
In anticipation of Obama's swearing-in today, millions have flocked to the city.
BY ELLIOT KORT editor@kansan.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Barack Obama's journey to the White House will come to an end today as he is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. During the past few weeks, the District of Columbia has seen a flurry of activity setting up for the event. Millions of people from across the country have gathered at the nation's capitol to witness Obama become the nation's next commander in chief.
The president-elect's trip, however, is not the only one coming to a close. For Briana Saunders, Vancouver, Canada, senior, watching Obama take the oath of office has been a longtime goal. Saunders worked as an intern with
Obama for America, ran a caucusing location in Lawrence and also volunteered on the ground in Iowa before its primary.
"For me, it's the culmination of a year and a half of work." Saunders said.
She said she rallied for Obama's cause after hearing his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. She said it was easy to see Obama as more than just a politician.
"He is the American Dream," she said. "He lived it."
In the days leading up to the inauguration, visitors have had unique opportunities apart from watching Obama taking the oath of office.
Laura Green, 1985 graduate and
Students, faculty celebrate inauguration both in Lawrence and in Washington, D.C.
SEE WASHINGTON ON PAGE 3A
ASSOCIATED PRESS
agarry@kansan.com
BY ALEXANDRA GARRY agarry@kansan.com
For a brief moment, Sara Shannon panicked.
As she stood by the side of a lonely, middle-of-nowhere road, her participation in a moment of tremendous national history — a moment she felt she was part of — was threatened. After months of hard work and emotional investment, for a moment, she wasn't sure she would make it.
"I was worried I would have to come
Shannon's car had broken down on the way from Lawrence to Washington, D.C., where she had hoped to attend the inauguration of the 4th president of the United States. Barack Obama.
back to Kansas with my tail between my legs," said Shannon, who worked on Obama's campaign. "But I had worked hard and I wasn't going to give up."
Shannon, Ottawa senior, eventually made it — with a little help from a friendly stranger and a friend who let her borrow a car.
Shannon was among the University students, faculty and Lawrence residents who traveled more than 1,000 miles to the nation's capital to witness the swearing-in of the new president.
Jonathan Earle, associate director for programming at the Dole Institute of Politics, said from Washington that there were crowds of people
President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama arrive at "We Are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" Sunday in Washington.
(in background) People visit the National Mall near the Washington Monument as preparations are underway for the inauguration Monday. President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office as the 44th president on Tuesday.
STUDENT GROUPS
Senate funds cause worry
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY BRIANNE PFANNENSTIEL bpfannenstiel@kansan.com
For the past 56 years the International Student Association has organized an International Awareness Week full of events, speakers and performances. The event requires a budget of $3,000 to $5,000 and, up until this year, ISA has been able to count on money from Student Senate to help fund it. But as Senate money drains, ISA is beginning to fear it will have to find other ways to pay for the event.
ISA isn't the only student group looking for money Student Senate spent nearly $72,000 of its $108,168 year budget by the end of the fall semester and is now strapped for cash, which is putting a greater financial strain on student organizations this spring.
"I am very much worried about not getting money from Senate," said Yaser AlZayer, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia junior and ISA president. "I don't think they are completely out of money, but I'm thinking it's going to be hard."
AlZayer said his organization was in the process of looking over its budget before going to Student Senate to ask for money for the first time this year. But if ISA cannot receive enough funding from Senate to cover the costs of International Awareness Week, AlZayer said he didn't know if the group would be able to raise enough money on its own.
"I'm not sure what wed do," AlZayer said. "I'm just hoping that there will be something out there for us."
Koga Moffor, Overland Park senior and Black Student Union president, said her organization had a good experience with getting money from Senate in the past and was hoping Senate would be able to help them out again.
"We don't have a ton of money and we have a big event in April that we really want to do," Mofior said. "I hope that they'll be able to help us out a little bit, but if we don't get it from Student Senate we'll have to get it other ways."
Other organizations on campus that fund smaller groups said they expected to see an increase in requests for funding because Student Senate would be turning away more groups than usual.
Nathan Mack, Lawrence senior and vice president of administration for Student Union Activities, said SUA anticipated an increase in the number of funding requests it would receive because of Senate's decreased budget.
"It's kind of hard to tell at this point how much request there's going to be, but we're definitely anticipating it," Mack said. "We're
SEEFUNDING ON PAGE 3A
index
Classifieds. 8A Opinion. 5A
Crossword. 4A Sports. 12A
Horoscopes. 4A Sudoku. 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
'VALKYRIE' IN SOUTH KOREA
Actor Tom Cruise visited the premiere of his new movie in the country's capital, Seoul. | PAGE 4A
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