Douglas Anderson didn’t think he’d ever see a black president.

In his 68 years, the Syracuse University mathematics professor has witnessed 17 inaugurations, a world war, the civil rights movement and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

And this November, Anderson went to the polls and submitted his vote for the president he thought he’d never get. He wants his country to improve for his 3- and 4-year-old granddaughters, and for Anderson, Barack Obama is the man to do that.

Anderson was one of almost 700 people who watched the inaugural ceremonies on the 15-by-20 foot television in Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium Tuesday.

‘It’s a new day for our country,’ Anderson said. ‘We’re being called to be faithful to our values, our traditions, our heritage. This is a refreshing change.’

Anderson, with tears in his eyes, described the inauguration as overwhelming and remarkable.

‘I’m old enough that I’ve seen days when we called for renewal, and moving ahead, and change in America. John Kennedy did that,’ he said. ‘But I don’t see President Obama as a black man, or a white man. He’s an American. And he represents who we are and what we want to be.’

For students like Crystal Perkins, Obama’s biracial identity is a milestone. The senior health and wellness major is also biracial, and a Republican. She still voted for Obama, and she said seeing him reach the presidency gave her chills.

‘I think it gives a lot of people hope,’ Perkins said. ‘I really feel like a lot of people who maybe thought they could never do anything now feel like they have a step underneath them. It just gave hope to a whole generation of people.’

Shantel Fair, a sophomore sports management major, said Tuesday gave her hope.

‘It’s something I never thought I’d see happen, but I’m just so blessed that I got to see this, and I got to live through this. So many people fought for this day,’ Fair said. ‘It gives us hope. It just shows that if he can come through all this controversy, why cant we?’

Carlos Palencia Jr., a junior acting major, said he saw the message of unity in Obama’s speech reflected in the crowd that gathered in the auditorium.

‘I was really excited that the university came together for this. It was just so nice to see different groups on campus join together. And that’s what’s great about being at a university when this happens, you’re part of something bigger than yourself.’

Palencia said that as he watched the inauguration, he thought Obama prepared a great speech. He thought he had the right mentality.

‘I never thought that an inauguration would get me teary,’ Palencia said. ‘But just to be a part of history, it got me teary eyed. And I got goose bumps.’

shmelike@syr.edu

Published on January 20, 2009 at 12:00 pm