WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 20—Barack Obama, CC'83, made both Columbian and American history Tuesday when he officially became the forty-fourth president of the United States.
All eyes were on Washington this afternoon as Obama was sworn in as the country's first African-American president—and the first Columbia College graduate to take office.
Hundreds of thousands poured into the Capitol and National Mall to watch as Obama vowed to begin to reconstruct the country in the face of economic and political disrepair. The vast range of people drawn out reflected an inaugural address that emphasized the need for maintaining the legacy of earlier generations while remaining committed to innovation.
"That we are in the midst of crisis is now well," Obama said, citing war, the crippled economy, failing school and health care system, and lack of efficient energy usage as evidence of the country's "collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for war."
"Starting today," he said, "We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."
Obama also called for an end to bipartisanship, and underscored the need for unity to confront the challenges plaguing the country.
"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply," Obama said.
While the inauguration coincided with the first day of classes, many said they would be skipping to watch the swearing-in ceremony, which was broadcast in screening rooms and Low steps. Others made the trip down to D.C. to witness the historic inauguration first-hand.