{"id":64324,"date":"2009-01-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/obamas-inauguration-evokes-strong-emotions-standing-ovations-at-uri\/"},"modified":"2009-01-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-21T00:00:00","slug":"obamas-inauguration-evokes-strong-emotions-standing-ovations-at-uri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2009\/01\/obamas-inauguration-evokes-strong-emotions-standing-ovations-at-uri\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama\u2019s inauguration evokes strong emotions, standing ovations at 溏心vlog免费B站"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tMcCain supporters wish him well<\/i><\/p>\n


\n\tKINGSTON, R.I.\u2014January 21, 2009 \u2013 Some reached for tissues as their eyes welled with tears, while a few rows over two women waved American flags. They were among 400 or so students, faculty and staff jammed into the Memorial Union Ballroom to listen, watch and cheer as Barack Obama recited the oath of office to became the nation\u2019s 44th president just after noon on Tuesday, Jan 20.<\/p>\n


\n\tAbu Bakr, \u201973, director of planning services and executive assistant to the 溏心vlog免费B站 president, was among those in the crowd.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cFirst of all, the emotions are just so strong in me and they are absolutely welling inside,\u201d said the 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate who was a star with Rhody men\u2019s basketball squad in the early 1970s. \u201cIt\u2019s such an incredible moment. What made it so unbelievable for me is he chronicled our history and legacy and challenged us as a nation and people to remember that we have responsibilities not just to our ourselves but to this country and to the world.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThis is a country that has had a history and legacy of racism and oppression, but which continues to grow and endure to the point where this country can accept and elect a black man as president,\u201d Bakr said while wiping a tear from his cheek. \u201cIt says so much about how far this country has progressed. We have so much more to do. It\u2019s almost hard to speak right now I am so overcome with emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tAt the ballroom one could get at least some sense of the excitement that filled Washington on Tuesday. The crowd rose in a robust ovation when the new president had completed the oath. For the 溏心vlog免费B站 community, which has been buffeted by unrelenting federal and state budget cuts, Obama\u2019s pledge to bolster the nation\u2019s public schools and ensure that a college education remains within everyone\u2019s reach was a healing balm. At the conclusion of his remarks, the gathering rose and cheered again in tribute.<\/p>\n


\nCameron Lightbourne, a graduate student from the Bahamas studying aquaculture, also joined the ballroom crowd.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cObviously it\u2019s an important day, it\u2019s a historic speech,\u201d Lightbourne said. \u201cHis speech touched on all the important points, domestically, the economy, the threats that American and the world face. I think he just tried to be inclusive, that\u2019s what his whole platform was built on, and his whole existence really is the embodiment of that. He just wanted to include, to let everybody know that he is going to be determined to make sure the people of every class, every creed are going to be part of the rebuilding of America. The world we live in right now is a global world, and it is getting smaller and smaller, and everybody\u2019s going to have to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tDonald H. DeHayes, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, moderated a panel discussion in the ballroom following the ceremonies. He reflected briefly on Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s comments at the Lincoln Memorial 45 years ago. He said members of the audience might remember when Dr. King talked to \u201cAmerica of the fierce urgency of now. Maybe that fierce urgency of now is emerging once again starting today. (Dr. King) talked about then being the time to make real the promises of democracy, and again maybe we\u2019re at that jumping off point now some 45 years later. He also said now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God\u2019s children.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\tWhile DeHayes and others gathered at the ballroom, there were four other venues with large-screen televisions on the Kingston Campus and two others at the Feinstein Providence Campus where community members gathered to watch the inauguration of the country\u2019s first African-American president.<\/p>\n


\n At Rhody Market in Hope Commons, students clutched their cups of coffee and munched on presidential cookies while gathered around television sets. A sense of anticipation filled the air with some students showing up early to capture the best viewing positions. Even students who voted for John McCain wanted to be witnesses to history and were hopeful that Obama could inspire a weary nation.<\/p>\n


\nLauren Testoni, an East Greenwich sophomore, wore specially made earrings that bore the new president\u2019s likeness.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cMy mother got them for me for Christmas,\u201d Testoni said. \u201cWe\u2019re big Obama supporters in my house; my sister got a pair too. We\u2019re a Democratic family; both of my parents are in unions, so we have always been big on Democrats. It\u2019s a historic election; to have a black president is something we all supported and to have someone who is going to make a lot of changes we need right now is really great,\u201d Testoni said.<\/p>\n


\nLauren Turrisi, a sophomore from Cresskill, N.J., did not vote for Obama, but she was excited to be witnessing history.

\n\u201cIt\u2019s very cool watching change being made in our county, and I think it\u2019s something we need. So I hope Obama does well for our country,\u201d Turrisi said.<\/p>\n


\nWayne Cahoone, a freshman from Wakefield, said, \u201cThis is one of those days you will remember for the rest of your life. It\u2019s such a monumental day in history.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAn Obama supporter \u201cfrom day one,\u201d Cahoone added that \u201cat first it was something about his character that I was drawn to. I just started looking at his stance on the environment, to become more energy efficient with wind power and solar power and his stance on the war.

\nYaw Peprah, a sophomore from Lincoln, said, \u201cI am so happy for him (Obama). No one thought that this day would come, that we would have the first black president. I think he has all of the qualities to be a world leader.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nMatthew Colavita, a freshman from East Greenwich, voted for John McCain. So how was he feeling about the day\u2019s events? \u201cIt\u2019s tough, but I am not angry or bitter. I am very hopeful. I wish Barack Obama all the best. I hope that he is the right answer for this country. Obviously, that\u2019s the most important thing that our country can recover. We are in tough times in many different areas.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nDeborah Levesque, a psychologist with Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc., an 11-year-old privately held research and product development company located on the Kingston Campus, was appropriately expecting change. \u201cThis day represents a new day because we have elected a black man as president. I believe that we will leave Iraq soon, and as a researcher, I believe that we will see new research funding. I also think he is a good role model for young people and adults. He has a strength of character we haven\u2019t seen in the White House for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \u201cIt\u2019s momentous and emotional for me because I grew up in the \u201860s,\u201d said Susanne Vieira, project assistant at Pro-Change. \u201cI saw, heard and experienced a lot. I like the unification of people, the sense again that we are all together and all one. I think Obama will be a good president for us, because he will unify the country, and if he can execute those things he wishes to execute, we will be a lot better off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch a video<\/a> taken during the inauguration gatherings held on campus.\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

McCain supporters wish him well KINGSTON, R.I.\u2014January 21, 2009 \u2013 Some reached for tissues as their eyes welled with tears, while a few rows over two women waved American flags. They were among 400 or so students, faculty and staff jammed into the Memorial Union Ballroom to listen, watch and cheer as Barack Obama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}