America awaits Obama

On Tuesday, history will be made as Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. The Weber State University Center for Diversity and Unity will host "A Time for Change" event on Jan. 20, the Tuesday Obama will be sworn into office. It will begin at 9 a.m. and run until noon in the Shepherd Union Building ballrooms. The event is free, and is being sponsored in partnership with the WSU student chapter of Society of Professional Journalists, Student Involvement and Leadership and WSUSA. Light snacks will be provided during the event. Following President Obama's inaugural speech, Adrienne Gillespie and Vikki Vickers will be facilitating a discussion asking students what changes they plan to make with their new commander-in-chief in office. They will also talk about the historical significance of the event, and how it reflects on the vision and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. "The inauguration of the first African-American president in 2009 ties in perfectly with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream," Gillespie said. "Reflecting on the 'I Have a Dream' speech and the hope of being able to judge a person by their character rather than the color of their skin, we look at this man at this time elected president - how can we not look at it as Rev. King's dream?" While many students may be excited to see the change in power and see what Obama can do, one WSU student, Lindsey Calder, is not. "(I'm) not excited," she said. "He has a lot of beliefs that I don't think are right." Cassandra Story, a WSU business and technical sales freshman said she is also not excited about it, thought she may still watch it on TV. "I haven't really decided yet," she said. "I don't really like Obama and I might watch it just to see what he'll say." After thinking about the inauguration, Story said she thinks she will watch it. "I am excited for him to start," she said. "I think because he is new and that he hasn't been in office for very long, I think he is going to have a harder time knowing what he can and cannot do." Pieter Sawatzki, a WSU freshman, said he wouldn't be watching the inauguration because he didn't vote. "I think he is going to be a relatively effective president," he said. "He is going to be better than Bush, anyone is going to be better than Bush." Sawatzki said he is more interested in what happens after the inauguration than before. "Everyone is going to be talking about his pretty words," he said, "but the next day, what are his actions going to say?" Davud Duarte, Samantha Neri and Ryan Larsen contributed to this story.