By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
For Annetta St. Clair, a Democrat and long-time political science professor at Missouri Southern State University, the inauguration of Barack Obama was a “two-tissue” event.
St. Clair joined hundreds of students, faculty and others to watch the ceremony in Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall Tuesday on a big-screen television.
The auditorium was all but filled by the time Obama stepped to the podium, and most of the crowd appeared to be students and faculty.
Samantha Rusk, a freshman education major from Carthage, arrived early and said she wanted to be there to watch the nation’s first African-American president take office.
Rusk voted for Obama but her friend Jessica Hursh, a freshman biology major voted for John McCain.
“I liked them both, and I’m happy to see this day,” she said.
Jason Kilptrick, an African-American who teaches Spanish at MSSU, said he never thought he would see a day when an African-American would be elected to the highest office in the country.
“I’m not talking bad about America; I just never thought I’d see it,” said Kilpatrick, age 37.
Galen Rea, a sophomore Spanish major from Webb City, nodded in agreement during several parts of Obama’s speech and said he was glad the new president emphasized that it will take the efforts of all Americans to meet the challenges of the day.
“People put the responsibility on politics, but the true success of the nation depends on the individual discipline of each citizen,” he said. “There has to be individual excellence before we can have excellence on the grand scale.”
Rea said he supported Obama, though a registration mix-up prevented him from voting.
“I also support him as a professed Christian, but I’m bothered by his support for abortion rights,” he said.
Seeing Obama take office “makes me feel like I can hang up my flag again,” said Holly Fogerty, an English professor at the university.
Challenges ahead
Conrad Gubera, a long-time sociology professor at the university, said Barack Obama’s inauguration speech reminded him of one in 1961, delivered by President John F. Kennedy.
Gubera, who worked for the Kennedy campaign, said Obama, as a speaker “is no Kennedy, but everything he said is very timely.
“I hope what he said will motivate us all to take on the challenges ahead. It’s going to require shared sacrifice across generations,” he said.
Presidential Transition
Related Photos
Discussion
January 20, 2009
<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 1:41 p.m. Students, faculty gather at MSSU for inauguration
‘I’m happy to see this day.’
- Presidential Transition
-
-
<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 3:59 p.m. Barack Obama’s speech receives good reviews from locals in Capitol
Paxton Williams awoke early Tuesday and hiked 20 blocks to stand in line.
Tessa Foti rose at 4:45 a.m. to board a bus that would take her and other classmates through the Capitol’s frigid temperatures and to a glimpse of history. - <img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0> Inaguration slide show<font color="#ff0000"> w/ Inauguration Day slide show</font>
- <img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0> 2:34 p.m. President Obama's inaugural address full text<font color="#ff0000"> w/ Inauguration address video </font> "My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors."
- <img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 2:45 p.m. Inaugural parade kicks off Barack Obama leads off an inaugural parade down America’s main street that pays homage to pioneers who paved the way for the nation’s first black president.
-
<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 1:41 p.m. Students, faculty gather at MSSU for inauguration
- <img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 1:51 p.m. Missourians celebrate Obama inauguration Missourians are marking the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama with gatherings at bars, movie theaters and concert halls.
-
<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 12:51 p.m. MSSU professor recalls civil rights era struggle, hurdles to black voting
Henry “Bud” Morgan downplays what he did in the early 1960s. As a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, he verified the identities of three African-Americans who sought voter registrations.
- <img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 12:03 p.m. Ex-President Bush and wife leave capital for Texas Former President George W. Bush and his wife have left Washington for their Texas home, after eight years in the White House.
- <img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 12:00 p.m. Instant change at White House Web site At precisely 12:01 p.m. EST, the White House Web site, the online bastion of the Bush administration for the past eight years, was updated to reflect President Barack Obama’s assumption of office.
- <img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 11:40 a.m. How well do you know your inauguration history?
- More Presidential Transition Headlines
-
<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/new.gif" border=0> 3:59 p.m. Barack Obama’s speech receives good reviews from locals in Capitol
Paxton Williams awoke early Tuesday and hiked 20 blocks to stand in line.
Youngest-ever Speller Disappointed by Mistake
2 American Tourists Kidnapped in Egypt
Chen Guangcheng: 'Historic Transition' in China
New York City Seeks Big Drink Ban
Los Angeles Bans Plastic Grocery Bags
Raw Video: SpaceX Dragon Leaves Space Station
Police: Gunman Kills 5, Self in Seattle
Experts: Americans Must Prepare for Storm Season
Forest Fire Becomes New Mexico's Largest Ever
Montreal Police: Mailed Body Parts From Same Man
Facebook Expands Campus As Stock Shrinks
