THE bserver U The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Marys OLUME 43 : ISSUE 71 WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 21, 2009 NDSMCOBSERVER.COM Obama inaugurated as 44th president AARON STEINER/The Observer Please turn to Onlookers clap and take pic- c tures on the National Mall page o tor yesterday as Barack H. full coverage. 0bama is inaugurated" Millions crowd the Capitol to witness historic inaugurationMany travel to Washington to be a part of celebration once more. eted area, the silver zone, stretched u By JENN METZ Those in attendance, forming an By KAITLYNN RIELY on for over a mile. News Editor indistinguishable sea of waving Associate News Editor When the hour of the noon swear­ American flags, listened almost in ing-in drew near, those in line at WASHINGTON — The millions of reverence to the words of the first WASHINGTON — Yearning to be a Independence and 3rd St. to get into those who poured in from across the black president of the United States, part of history, more than a million one of the ticketed areas began country, braved the cold and waited who expressed his humility at being people thronged around the U.S. chanting, “Let us in,” and waved in hours of disorganized lines to wit­ able to go down in the history books Capitol Tuesday to witness the their silver viewing tickets to securi­ ness history, rejoiced in celebration as the 44th man to take the oath of swearing-in of the 44th president of ty- shortly after noon on Tuesday as office. the United States of America, About 20 minutes before the cere­ Barack H. Obama was sworn in as “I stand here today humbled by the Barack Obama. mony began, their chants were the 44th president of the United task before us,” he said, “ grateful Thousands arrived in the District answered as thousands more were States. for the trust you have bestowed, before dawn broke, cramming onto allowed onto the National Mall His inaugural address, delivered mindful of the sacrifices borne by Metro trains or walking into the city behind the Reflecting Pool. Stepping before a crowd perhaps unlike any­ our ancestors.” only to stand in queups that over collapsed net fencing, beside a thing our nation’s capital city has Obama, just after taking the oath stretched around buildings and row of hundreds of portable toilets, ever seen before gathered on the of office on the same Bible Abraham under bridges, past museums and those who had waited in line for National Mall, once again enum erat­ Lincoln used in his 1861 inaugura­ between barricades. hours took their place, shoulder to ed the challenges to come but also tion, spoke for almost 20 minutes, Those who had tickets to the view­ shoulder, to watch the peaceful called for an America that returns to assuring his fellow Americans that ing areas closest to the Capitol were transition of power, as President the ideals set forth by its forefathers, scarcely better off than those who an A m erica that is “ready to lead see SPEECH/page 8 did not, as lines for the largest tick­ see TRAVEL/page 8 Students watch ground-breaking event at locations around campus been inspired by his elec­ gathered to be at the actual By EMMA DRISCOLL tion.” inauguration. News Writer Senior Emma Whitten took “It was kind of incredible in the inauguration from the when they showed the shots Tuesday’s historic inaugu­ lounge area of LaFortune of everybody out in the ration of President Barack Student Center, where many Mall,” Whitten said. Obama was an inspirational students chose to watch the Senior, Caitlin Conway moment to remember for inauguration. watched the inauguration many students, a moment “It was really cool watch­ from her off-campus house. they’ll remember for the rest ing it with a ton of people,”. She enjoyed Aretha of their lives. Whitten said. “Everybody Franklin’s performance. “It was important that I cheered at all the right “I’m from Detroit, so I saw history being made,” moments and I cried a little loved the Aretha song — one sophomore Sean Gibbons bit.” of Michigan’s natural said. “Just how historic it Even from the television resources [as voted by the JESS LEE/The Observer was, not just the fact that screens in LaFortune, Michigan legislature],” Students in LaFortune Student Center watch President he’s black, but the fact that Whitten was impressed with Barack H. Obama speak on television yesterday. so much of the world has the amount of people that see CAMPUS/page 8 page 2 The Observer ♦ PAGE 2 Wednesday, January 21, 2009 In sid e C olu m n Question of the Day: H o w do you plan to celebrate the 2 0 0 9 presidential inaugeration? Challenge me I love challenges in football. Referees getting calls wrong isn’t ‘part of the gam e’ like in baseball, where balls and Anna Jones Mike Healy Jay Datar Serene Bethune Megan Savage strikes or safe-out calls are subject to umpires’ discretion. But I’m sick of the commentary surrounding challenge senior senior senior senior senior calls, both from the Walsh off-campus off-campus McGlinn off-campus commentators and other people in the Bill Brink “Watching CNN, “I’m having “By talking to “Living room. __________________ m y 9 7 yea r old T here’s nothing spending time pheasant, duck “I’m spending it vicariously worse than hearing Sports Editor with friends and molasses by waiting for grand-daddy through m y Mike Tirico babble and family, and sweet potatoes change. ” about this sisters who live on about how many fo r lunch. ” m om ent in feet you need in bounds for a catch having the in Washington, while you watch Andre Johnson drag his occasional history and D.C.” feet on the sideline for the sixth time. ‘celebratory ‘toasting’ too.” It’s the same principle with John Madden and the on-screen pen. I can to a st.’” see that it’s third-and-seven. Don’t cir­ cle the graphic on the screen that dis­ plays down and distance. The commentators treat challenges In B r ie f like a magic eye — if you look at it enough times, eventually it will get Author and Senior clearer and clearer. How else can you Astrophysicist at the Space explain seeing the replays over and Telescope Science Institute at over? Once you’ve seen all the different Johns Hopkins University , Dr. views once or twice, what can we glean Mario Livio, will give a Public from repeated viewings? Lecture entitled, “Is God a The worst doesn’t come until you’re Mathematician?” Today at 7:00 watching a game with nine other peo­ p.m. in the Hesburgh Library ple. You get nine versions of the NFL Auditorium. A book-signing rulebook as you’re watching the will precede and follow the talk. replays. I also feel like I’m watching in the radio booth. You hear nine people Tim Robbins will be giving a narrate what you can clearly see in lecture called “Theater as front of you: “His knee’s down there...” Community” at 7 p.m. Today in (I can see that) “...and the ball comes Leighton Concert Hall in out there... ” DeBartolo Performing Arts Enough. Stop treating me like I’m Center. Tickets can be pur­ four. At this point, most people watching chased online or through the football have seen enough challenges — ticket office for $5. and the subsequent analyses that go with them — to understand how they John Smart, president of the work. So here’s what I propose: show all Acceleration Studies the angles of the replay, then have a Foundation will give his lecture football trivia game. If Donovan McNabb entitled “Foresight doesn’t know the overtime rules, how Development in a World of much do you think the average fan WU YUE/The Observer Accelerationg Change: knows about obscure rules of the game? Lee Svete, the director of ND Career Center is hosting the “Preparing for the Thoughts from an Evo Devo For example, a question about chal­ Career Fair” workshop in Howard Green Lounge, yesterday Futurist” in the Jordan lenges, since that’s the topic of the col­ Auditorium, Mendoza College umn. If a coach wins all of his chal­ of Business as part of the Ten lenges, how many does he get? Three. Years Hence Lecture Series. And did you know that if you put in your This event will be held on third-string quarterback before the Friday at from 10:40 a.m. to fourth quarter, the first and second O ffbea t 12:10 p.m. and is free and open string QBs cannot re-enter the game? to the public. I’d rather do trivia than hear an end­ Fishermen spent a month Jiggins. hom eless ow ners to less loop of readily apparent informa­ floating in an ice box “They had no safety come in from the freez­ There will be a panel discus­ tion spat at me until “the ground can’t CANBERRA — Two equipment, no beacons, ing cold. sion entitled “Pornucopia: cause a fumble” gets stuck in my head Myanmar fishermen no means of communi­ The city’s social wel­ Living in a Pornified Culture.” like “Single Ladies.” have survived for cation and they’d been fare agency has agreed It will be held in Room 100, Another alternative: give me a micro­ alm ost a m onth in drifting for 25 days,” to house about eight Hesburgh Center Auditorium phone inside the referee’s huddle after a shark-infested waters Jiggins told Reuters homeless people with on Thursday from 7 to 8:30 controversial play, and a cam era under by floating in a large ice Tuesday, describing the their pets at a local soc­ p.m.