Photo by Izzy Zanone
After months of heated debates and competition, Donald Trump was elected as the next President of the U.S. last Nov.. Now, the time for him to take office has come, and the nation stands divided. In the past teachers have shown the inauguration ceremony, or at least parts of it, in class. However, with Trump being the focus of the event, some students believe this year’s inauguration could be a little different.
Social studies teacher David Muhammad was one of many teachers that showed Obama take the oath of presidency.
“Regardless of how people feel [about the candidate], it’s part of our history,” Muhammad said.
To him, it didn’t matter if he liked Obama or not–he felt he had to show his students the inauguration since it is important to America’s history. Mr. Muhammad explained that the rule still applies to this year’s inauguration and Donald Trump.
“You can’t criticize someone until you know what they are actually talking about,” Muhammad said. “Form your own opinions [about Trump]. Don’t read the tabloids.”
This year could be different from the past inaugurations because of how people view Trump, as well as the political party changing from the Democrats to the Republicans.
From the Democratic point of view, Donald Trump is a man with controversial policies and beliefs. On the Republican side Trump is the man that will “make America great again”. The nation is split.
Young Democrats Club (YDC) member and senior, Mazie Brooke, believes that this year is different because to her, it’s less about the party and more about the person.
Brooke thinks that rather than associating with a political party more people are associating with a candidate. For example, a person might say that they support Trump or people like Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders rather than the Republicans or Democrats. This could lead to more people not watching the inauguration because they are against Trump himself, rather than the Republican party.
“In the past teachers would have been more open with showing the inauguration but it’s different because of Donald Trump,” said junior Young Republicans Club (YRC) member Christopher Patrick. ”there are so many lies and misconceptions [about Trump]”.
Patrick further explained that he believes Trump has been attacked by social media, and how that could also influence who watches the inauguration.
While students have expressed their concerns for the inauguration, social studies teacher Brenda Fishman hopes that the students and teachers won’t treat this election differently than the past ones.
“We have experienced dozens of transfers of power between party to party in the past,” said Fishman. “This year should be no different.”
While Americans all have different opinions on Trump, the facts still ring true: the inauguration symbolizes the transition of power. It’s something that has occurred every four years ever since George Washington took the oath. It is a process that symbolizes a new era for America; for better, or for worse.