On Low Steps, A Rare Show of School Spirit

Little can draw Columbians from the daily shuffle along College Walk, but one who once took to it and traveled his way to the presidency inspired a spirited crowd to gather at Low Library Plaza for the second time since September’s ServiceNation Forum. Tuesday’s inaugural broadcast again showed the distinct magnetism of Barack Obama, CC’83, on campus—even in the frigid cold.

Hundreds of students, faculty, and local residents united Tuesday morning and flooded the steps to watch Obama sworn into office, braving a sunny snowfall and foregoing the first classes of the spring semester. Loud cheers erupted as Obama appeared on the JumboTron screen, students rejoicing as they witnessed the first Columbia College president taking office. Several of the University’s top administrators left their offices to squeeze in among students, donning scarves and gloves. At one point, University President Lee Bollinger even stood outside aside his wife.

“It was a very moving event,” Bollinger said in an interview after the inauguration, when he invited the crowd to his home for hot cocoa and a meet and greet with his dogs. “It brings you close to tears, feeling the moment. There’s so many threads in this—there’s the Columbia thread, the core thread, the race in America thread, the civil liberties thread.”

For many students, this day signified the revision of America’s political system to one that feels more democratic than it has in years past.

“As long as I can remember following it, for the past eight years, people have been complaining about politics,” Kate Staker-Ginzberg, CC ’12, said. “This is what I get out of my first election: this historical occasion and this amazing candidate I didn’t have to ‘settle for.’”

Visiting student Lee DeVari agreed, adding, ”I believe that now there’s going to be more of a chance to enter into politics. The system is going to be more encompassing.”

But not all students chose to partake in this historic day, opting to attend classes rather than listen to Obama’s speech.

“School is more important for me,” Danielle Liang, SEAS ’09, said. “For me, this is not so important. I’m from China. I’m not American.”

Yet for most, Obama’s inauguration was the herald of widespread progression, from the nation’s election of the first African-American president to the University’s increased emphasis on public service.

“I never thought this day would come, having an African-American elected to the highest office in the country,” Annie Paxton, a professor at the School of Public Health, said. “And it seems to me that, compared to students of the previous generation, students now are more apolitical, more conservative, and more concerned about credentials. Barack will wake people up.”

Many echoed Paxton’s perspective, discussing ways in which Obama’s service initiatives would inspire Columbia students to increase their own engagement within the community.

“His leadership inspires us,” Bollinger said. “His call for a commitment to help people will resonate with a lot of young people.”

Obama’s former classmates recognized his community-centered ambitions as well. Mavis K. Fowler-Williams, SEAS ’83 and Law ’87, admired the fact that he devoted his time the day before the inauguration to a homeless shelter. Yet she emphasized that he was not always in the limelight. In fact, he was known as aloof and quiet to many during his two years at Columbia College. But it was this very school, she said, that molded him into who he is today.

“Columbia has a different type of student,” Fowler-Williams said. “At Columbia, you’re on your own—there’s no one holding your hand for you. You have to develop on your own, which was perfect for Obama. He needed to be here.”

David Peng, CC ’83, another classmate of Obama, agreed, noting, “If you read his book, he did not have fun years at Columbia. He needed those years to find himself and hone his vision.”

As a group of children from The School at Columbia waving blue pom-poms cheered amid the crowd, Barnard students and faculty members also gathered at a watch event in the James Room of Barnard Hall. While Barnard Professor and religion department chair Elizabeth Castelli said she was pleased with Obama’s emphasis on the country’s uniting to move forward, she added that she was “disappointed and heartbroken” over his selection of Reverend Rick Warren to give the invocation. “[Warren has] shown himself to be homophobic and bigoted in a number of different ways,” she said. Obama’s “effort to reach out to evangelicals could have been served by a better choice.”

Many believe that Obama’s goals are necessarily stronger than past presidents’, as he plunges into a presidency set to be plagued by international and domestic crises.

“Today is such a historic day,” Kevin Plybon, CC ’11, said. “It’s one of the few, if any, days of the year when all of Columbia comes together like this—it’s a pity there aren’t more occasions like these.”

Tabitha Peyton-Wood and Madina Toure contributed reporting to this article.