Watching the future become present

(Photo by Kris Todd) Students sit in desks in teacher Steve Bomgaars' classroom to watch a televised broadcast of the inauguration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, at Spencer High School. [Order this photo]

Daily Reporter Staff

The halls and classrooms at Spencer High School were quiet Tuesday as students and staff alike watched intently as Barack Obama became the nation's 44th president.

CNN was the television channel of choice in the school building's teachers' lounge.

Generally off-limits to students, the lounge was filled with nine cooks, 14 students, teacher Jan Myers and substitute teacher Joe Enderlin at 11 a.m. when they heard U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduce the inaugural ceremony and state, "The world is watching today .... "

Live CNN coverage was also on for a good portion of the day in SHS room 242, the classroom of Steve Bomgaars. The whiteboard at the front of his room carried a note telling Advanced-Placement Government and Politics students to read chapter one and watch the inaugural. The whiteboard in the back of the known Democratic party activist's classroom outlined the country's political spectrum -- from "left liberal" to "middle moderate" to "right conservative" -- with student initials jotted below their respective affiliations on the spectrum.

As classes changed, new students filed in with their lunches in hand, ready to watch the historic transaction. Two of three students who remained seated in desks in Bomgaars' classroom expressed annoyance at the fact that daily announcements were read during the time in which Obama took his oath of office.

The SHS learners also noticed that Chief Justice John Roberts slightly stumbled over the wording of the presidential oath before Obama recited it correctly with a smile.

While Brian Davis deemed the inauguration "pretty impressive," fellow SHS student Alyssa Speight said it was "exciting" to view the first African-American accept the country's presidency.

Without hesitation, the SHS senior then pondered Obama's safety. Speight seemed to answer her own concern as she said, "But we do have a really good national security" in place.

"Change" and "hope," words used often during his campaign for office, were echoed by many of the students who heard Obama state, "For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

Speight was among those who heard Obama cite "change" during his inaugural address. The student replied by stating she'll change in "how I treat others in general," by being "helpful in every way" possible and by "going along with the changes."

(Photo by Kris Todd) Spencer High School students, substitute and retired long-time SHS history teacher Joe Enderlin, seated front and center, and SHS teacher Jan Myers, seated at top left, display a range of emotions as they watch a CNN broadcast of the 44th president's inauguration on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 20 2009 in the teachers' lounge of SHS. [Order this photo]

"He has a lot of ideas in mind that'll help change our nation," Lindsay Wicks, a SHS senior, said following Obama's inaugural address. The teenager smiled as she then relayed she fully understood what he was saying because she'd learned about all the topics presented during class.

Wicks, who said she'll not only attempt to become "more positive" this year, indicated she'll also be "open for change."

Hailey Jennings, who referred to yesterday's event as being "awesome," recalled experiencing 9/11 as a fifth grader. Jennings then said Obama's inauguration will likely hold a similar magnitude in her memory. As the SHS senior predicted his policies will reflect an "acceptance" of "religion and race," she foretold, "Hopefully it will boost everybody else and get them ready to change."

Monica Harmon called the 44th president's inauguration "cool." She also said she'll try to not be judgmental and "accept people for who they are," as well as attempt to "accept change" herself.

Craig Cunningham noted Obama's "eloquence" and said it was "easy to believe him." The SHS senior who'd watched the last three inaugurations unfold, deemed this one a "big deal" because an African-American was elected president.

Jordan Bates, a SHS student who viewed most of Tuesday's ceremony from a classroom TV, also deemed the new president's ensuing speech as "really impressive." He defined the event "a milestone" and a "great moment in American history that will go down as a unique one in history."

Noting the world environment's "changing for the worse," Bates then said, "I'll definitely keep up on what Obama is saying" and try to heed his advice.

Peer Becky Schulke, who viewed the historic inauguration as "something I'll be able to talk to the grandkids about," acknowledged she "loves history" and appreciated how Obama tied the symbolism associated with the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and former president Abraham Lincoln together.

Schulke then said D.J. Krogh, her boyfriend stationed at the U.S. Air Force's Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea, is also "excited to see what will happen" in regard to the president's pledges to end the war in Iraq.