By Chenoa McKnight
President Bush delivered his inaugural speech Thursday morning, officially beginning his second term in office, and like many people around the nation, students gathered around a TV to watch.
Curiosity of what policies and goals President George W. Bush would address in his inaugural speech drew in and held the attention of close to 70 students in the Wilkinson Terrace, all of who had gathered to observe the televised broadcast.
?I?m interested in seeing what George Bush sees the direction of the country is going to be in the next four years,? said Bryan Darsow, an economics and Asians studies major from Rochester, Minnesota. ?Whether he is going to put more emphasis on his international agenda or his domestic agenda. Because obviously this past term he has put a lot of emphasis on his international policy.?
Some students had to leave for class before the president gave his address, but that did not keep them from expressing their thoughts about what goals his speech would outline regarding the next four years.
?I think that Bush is a very good president and I?m glad he?s back in office,? said Courtney Richards, a fitness and wellness major from Sandy, Utah. ?I think he has his priorities straight and he?s trying to make our country a better place.?
The ceremony opened with Sen. Trent Lott conducting the inauguration and Rev. Luis Leon of St. John?s Episcopal Church, offering the invocation. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert gave the oath of office for Vice President Dick Cheney and Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Reinquist swore in President Bush.
The main focus of the president?s speech addressed the goal to combat tyranny in order to spread freedom to every part of the world.
?I think the whole foundation of America is based on freedom, giving everyone freedom and also to help other nations to be free,? said Lance Montgomery, a music composition major from Laguna Beach, Calif.
President Bush spoke of God as the author of liberty and he expressed a desire to heal the divisions that exist in the United States.
?President Bush seemed very religious in nature; I appreciated that he was able to address religion and do it in a way that was very clear he wasn?t speaking to any denomination in particular,? said Adam Bagley, a business major from Greeley, Colo. ?It was very impressive that he was able to encourage and promote religious beliefs regardless of religious affiliation.?
President Bush said he was confident that freedom would spread throughout the world because freedom is the heartfelt desire of every human being. Liberty will spread to every nation as everyone makes it their goal to care for the well being of their neighbor.
?His goal was to create a vision to sustain the American people in the losses they are going to take over the next four years,? said Eric Schulzke, a professor in the political science department.