The Calgary Herald
Passionate audience cheers Obama, jeers Bush at U of C
Jan. 21, 2009
They're dancing in the aisles, cheering when the hero comes into view and laughing and jeering when the cameras pan over to the villain.
Welcome to the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America, Calgary-style.
On Tuesday morning, while the historic occasion was being televised around the world from Washington, a gathering of passionate Calgarians converged on the University of Calgary's main student hall to mark the event. And while the 300 gathered here can't hold a candle to the more than one million filling the streets of Washington, they make up for their small number with unbridled, often vocal, joy and excitement.
This is an event made all the more sweeter when you're surrounded by like-minded people," says Alice Joseph, whose son studies at Colorado State University.
Her fellow Calgarians come from all walks of life, from professors, university support staff and students, to the many who took the day off work to witness the event in a public venue.
Octogenarians, expat Americans and veteran professors mingle with students and others from a diverse crowd that includes everything from hijabs to Mohawks and dreadlocks, to a group of boisterous young black women sporting T-shirts that read "Making Black" across the front, and "History" on the back.
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