Top row (l to r): Danielle Roberts, Zainab Okolo; Bottom row: (l to r): Adam Wilson, Caitlin Horgan, Celina Tousignant (Jason Tarr)
[audio:https://democracywise.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/Story2-POS-Inauguration-Tarr.mp3]
“Danielle Roberts, I’m 21, and I’m a full-time college student. Well, it was very legendary, monumentous (sic) — it was just a beautiful occasion. It instills in me a faith of hope that probably wasn’t there before. Hopefully students will have the mentality that we can and we did and we can basically do anything.”
(Danielle Roberts, 21, English textual studies and women studies major, Syracuse University)
“Zainab Okolo, I am 22 years old and I am a marriage family therapist. One word: proud. Very proud and very excited to see my president finally just take his place. (Interviewer: Why were you proud?) For a lot of reasons. One, Bush is out of office. Another, he is the first African-American president — and I was a witness to history.”
(Zainab Okolo, 22, graduate student in marriage and family therapy, Syracuse University)
“My name is Adam Wilson, 20 years old, aerospace engineer in-training, junior year. It means we are stepping into a new era. I noticed a very clean distinction and break from the previous regime. He said a lot of things and now it is kind of time to put up and see what he is actually going to do and I am excited to see those changes come to pass.”
(Adam Wilson, 20, aerospace engineering major, Syracuse University)
“My name is Caitlin Horgan. I am 20 years old and I am student at Syracuse University studying political science and history. I’m mostly excited about everything because I believe there is a new vision coming about with Obama. For me, education reform and education politics are the most important things on my agenda.”
(Caitlin Horgan, 20, political science and history major, Syracuse University)
“My name is Celina Tousignant. I am 21. I am a student at Syracuse University majoring in Spanish, psychology and magazine journalism. As the child of an immigrant, as a student of color, as an American citizen who has been ashamed of being an American for so long, it’s an indescribable feeling of hope. It’s already changed that by having Obama as president we are no longer seen as the American dickheads that are screwing the world over. We have a new-found credibility.
(Celina Tousignant, 21, Spanish, psychology, and magazine journalism major, Syracuse University)
For Democracywise, I’m Jason Tarr.
(Jason Tarr is a senior with triple majors in broadcast journalism, international relations, and Spanish)
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