Harvard Watches as Bush is Sworn In

As George W. Bush was inaugurated president on Saturday, some Harvard affiliates traveled to Washington D.C. to protest or cheer, while more watched the proceedings from the comfort of their dorms.

Three Harvard University Dining Services workers went to Washington to protest against Bush's stances on issues, primarily immigration.

Edward B. Childs, a chef in Adams House who was among the protesters, said it took three hours for the workers to pass through security checkpoints, but they were rewarded with a prime location on Pennsylvania Avenue.

"We were right across from the dignitaries stand," he said. "It was just great...We were very effective in getting our point across." Edwards said more Dining Services employees intended to go, but some decided against it because they felt threatened by the increased police presence at the celebration this year.

One lucky Harvard student, Shankar Duraiswamy '02, attended the inauguration with less partisan goals in mind, after winning a trip to the inauguration through the Institute of Politics (IOP) after guessing the final electoral count within one vote.

"I'm a Democrat so I would have rather been seeing Al Gore sworn in," Duraiswamy said. "But it was definitely a spectacle."

He said that he did not feel out of place as a Democrat, but that he disapproved of spectators' booing when First Lady Hillary Clinton was announced.

"I thought it was inappropriate," he said.

Back in Cambridge, a group of about 15 members of the Harvard Republican Club (HRC) met in the Lowell House Junior Common Room to see their candidate take the oath of office on the Capitol steps.

Many members of the HRC board could not travel to Washington, D.C. for the event because they had to take an exam in Government 1540, "The American Presidency," that day.

Eugene Krupitsky '03, who worked on the campaign of Vice President Al Gore '69, said he watched the inauguration speech to find out the answers to two questions: "What does Bush want to get done?" and "How does he want to get it done?"

Bush's speech included some major points from his campaign--reducing taxes, bulding defense and reforming social security, for example--with an emphasis on his trademark idea of "compassionate conservatism."

The speech emphasized unity, with Bush promisng to build a "single nation of justice and opportunity."

Jason J. Kohout '04 praised Bush's emphasis on bipartisan cooperation in the speech.

"It wasn't that great an address but he delivered it well, " Kohout said. "He set a good tone for trying to unite the people."

But other students said they would wait to see Bush in action before making a judgment.

"Speeches are one thing; I take actions more importantly than words," Krupitsky said of Bush's emphasis on bipartisanship. "It's simply a question of will he do it?"

Not all students were quite as interested in what Bush had to say, however.

"I slept," said Previn Warren '04. "I didn't want to see Bush in his glory."