Together We Should Stand

This afternoon, Barack Obama, CC ’83, will be inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America. To acknowledge this event’s extraordinary significance for the Columbia community, instructors should be lenient about student attendance during the inauguration.

Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., a JumboTron will show the inauguration on Low Plaza with simultaneous broadcasts in various public spaces around Barnard College’s campus. Typically, many instructors require student attendance on the first day of class to secure a spot in the course. As the current schedule stands, many students must choose between being penalized for not attending their first classes and watching the presidential inauguration of a fellow member of the Columbia community. Students who do not have a class scheduled during the inauguration, though, are freely able to watch the event with the rest of their fortunately unoccupied peers. Students should not have to rely on chance as the main factor in deciding whether they can be part of a historic occasion.

In acknowledgement of Columbia’s history of political activity, instructors should be forgiving to students who wish to watch President-elect Obama’s inauguration. Some instructors already provide no more than brief introductions to themselves and their syllabi before dismissing their classes at the start of the semester, and others would do well to follow suit. Indeed, Barnard College anticipates such a large portion of its student body to view the event that it is providing multiple viewing locations. But the sense of unity would be much stronger if all Columbia affiliates would gather on Low Plaza together. If instructors take the initiative to allow students to miss class, students should follow through with participating in the central event on campus. Some instructors have even gone as far as incorporating the inauguration into class discussions and early writing assignments, making it imperative that their students be able to watch. A press release for the occasion compared it to the ServiceNation event, and students would do well to emulate the same sense of community that emerged last fall when President-elect Obama and Senator John McCain spoke here.

As Obama becomes the first Columbia alumnus to be sworn into the presidency, instructors and students alike should do their part to acknowledge the excitement of the day. Columbia is renowned for its deep interest in politics, and flexibility during the presidential inauguration is the perfect way to continue this tradition. This day—a noteworthy one for both Columbia and the nation—should be used as a chance to come together as a united campus.