With the historical inauguration now passed, the nation now waits with bated breath to see every move of the new president. However even with constant interest in current White House affairs, no moment was more captivating than the moment our 44th President took the office in front of a monumental crowd reminiscent of the day Martin Luther King spoke of his dream to a similar-sized crowd. Juniata sent a group of students to this historical event. M. Amin Khoshnevisan, ’09, gave his opinion on it all.

What was the overall feeling during this inauguration?

It was such a positive and warm atmosphere. The feeling was one in which everyone was just very excited about experiencing history.

How does the beginning of a new administration differ from the past?

I think it differs in a few ways. One thing you have to look at when answering this question is the state of the union during the transition. When Bush took over eight years ago, America was doing well. Now, the nation is at war, the economy is suffering, jobs are going down, and the image of America in the world is tainted. So the difference I think between the two administrations’ beginning’s is the presence of hope for this administration, and the hope is for change and better days for Americans.

Do you feel as though the student demographic played a larger role in this election? Why?

Yes, I think that the Obama campaign did a great job of reaching out to young people, through our communication devices, such as the Internet and e-mail. I also think that his platform and his message were factors that students could believe.

What overall thoughts did you take away from your experience at this historic inauguration?

The main thought I took away is that I never want to be in D.C. again in such large masses, unless it’s another historic event. It was hell trying to get around after the inauguration.

But as for the historic nature of the inauguration, I am just happy to have been there. I am happy I was there with great people that I love being around. We were on the Metro, and one guy was talking about how when we look at pictures and footage from the Million Man March, we look at each person and think how significant each one was, and he said that he wanted people to think the same thing when they looked back on the inauguration 40 or 50 years from now. So I think everyone there was significant, or at least I would like to think so, and that everyone there was different too. The crowds were very diverse, and it looked like a meeting of nations. There were so many different people there all for the same reason; that’s quite powerful stuff.

Christopher Bender, ’10 Juniata Online Journalist