Cecilia Barajas | Staff Writer
barajac@imail.losrios.edu
Some City College students praised Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, and others voiced their opposition to his administration Feb. 18 in the Cultural Awareness Center.
Some students, in the audience of around 50, spoke highly of the new president, heralding his election as a keystone moment in African-American history.
“It’s one of the greatest things to happen in a lifetime, having a black president,” said Debbie Dixon, vice president of Associated Student Government.
Sponsored by the Cultural Awareness Center, the event also featured some who spoke about the necessity of Obama’s proposed changes in today’s turbulent economic and political climate.
“This country needs change and has been molested by the last administrator,” said student Canute Bernard III.
Political science major Trevor Sparks commented on the high expectations that many have about Obama and what they think he can do for the country.
“The theme of change is symbolic,” Sparks said. “I think that it was amazing to use a circle as a symbol meaning unity. I do believe that he presents a lot of promises to a lot of people, organizations etc. It is going to be a very tumultuous task.”
However, not all students spoke so approvingly about Obama.
“I don’t believe that he is hope or change,” English major Hassan Shabazz said. “He’s not the messiah of politics. I believe that not one person can make change. Dr. Martin Luther King didn’t make a change by himself.”
History and sociology major Peter Velasquez expressed his opinion on the public’s infatuation with the new president.
“America has come so close to Obama, they have clung to him,” Velasquez said.
Owen Smith, a 70-year-old student, responded angrily to the criticisms waged against Obama during the discussion.
“Why is everybody upset?” Smith exclaimed. “He’s only been in the presidency a month. Give the man a chance.”
Although the attendees did not all agree on Obama’s plans for the United States, they did agree that he has already brought change just by setting a new precedent as the nation’s first black president.
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