"THIS DAY IN HISTORY"
Eight years ago, history teacher Jamie Rinaldi recalled, students spilled out of Goldrick Commons, where a single television broadcasted President Barack Obama's first inauguration.
“That day was remarkable,” Rinaldi said. “The crowd literally ran down the hallway, up the stairwell — students standing in Goldrick house, people listening on radios wherever they could because in 2008, most students didn’t have iPhones. … Underneath the sound of the television, you could hear the sound of students [and teachers] weeping tears of joy. For the community to have that kind of collective sense of both joy and vulnerability is so rare.”
Rinaldi said Obama’s election disproved assumptions about race relations in America.
“A black man was being sworn in as president of the United States — something that almost all of us had grown up believing probably wouldn’t happen in our lifetime. … We were witnessing something of incredible magnitude, a moment that a century from now, people will look back on in U.S. history as a historic day, as a historic first.”
“There was excitement and there was hope,” science teacher Patrick McFarland said. “That’s very different from what people are feeling [now], at least at South.”
Following Trump’s election, students treated him differently from other presidents-elect, senior Jessie Shiner said.
“We’re still analyzing all of [Trump’s] actions as if he’s still up for the position,” she said. “I think a lot less of process of still trying to figure out what it’s gonna be like.” just waiting for the inauguration, it’s a lot more of an active process of still trying to figure out what it’s gonna be like.”
Rinaldi added that Trump “still seemed to be conduct-ing himself as a candidate on the campaign trail.”
The nature of the election preceding this inauguration makes for a very different day than eight years ago; further, whether the inauguration should be screened is not as obvious, Rinaldi said. As of Tuesday, South had no official plans to screen the inauguration school-wide.
“[The history department] has no one policy of how to do the inauguration. Teachers have a lot of flexibility," history department head Jennifer Morrill added. “We [have] a curriculum about the past, but we also believe that we need to teach kids to interact with things in the present and to interpret the current political world — to be able to make teaching the past and acknowledging the present.” to do the inauguration. Teachers have a lot of flexibility,” his decisions as citizens. So it’s always a balancing act between teaching the past and acknowledging the present.”
According to sophomore Bobby Lovett, however, South too frequently looks exclusively to the history department to tackle discussions on current events. “History teachers aren’t the only people at this school who know how politics work or are aware of how real life works,” he said. “I feel like discussions like these should be spread out [throughout departments].”
Not every teacher wishes to discuss topics as divisive as this year’s election, however; McFarland said he saw no real benefit to screening the inauguration “other than to see how it’s done.” Spanish teacher Viviana Planine said that she was debating on whether or not to show it in her classes, as she “can’t stand the president because he’s mean.” “How can I watch a president that I would kick out of my classes?” Planine said. “That kind of behavior translates all over.”
The president-elect’s influence over Americans, however, is exactly why students should experience Trump’s inaugural address first-hand, according to junior Alec Liberman. “It’s a major political event that might shape the rest of our lives,” he said. “[By watching, students] would get a sense of the president, or his first speech as president, rather than [relying on hearsay] from their friends or the internet.”
Sophomore Luke Ito agreed and said that inaugurations happen only once every four years, and such, should be treated as extremely significant.
Inaugurations are not about “pushing a political agenda,” but rather about “watching a historical moment,” senior Niki Samtani said.
“I think we need to look. Of course if we turn away, ... we’ve lost something essential in our society, which is common decency, respect for law and tradition and a basic awareness of how our political system operates,” Rinaldi said.
Encouraging students to acknowledge viewpoints opposing their own is important, junior Windley Knowlton said. “You’re never going to get what you want if you’re only thinking about your own ideas.”
Senior Anna Neumann, however, said screenings would only make sense in American government-focused classes.
“I don’t think there’s one right way to deal with the inauguration or to deal with the election,” Shiner said. “It can be a very overwhelming thing for people.” She added, though, that a whole-school viewing could build community in a unique way.
A community focus, sophomore Clara Boberg agreed, would help students process the event, as students watching the inauguration together during school allows for discus- sion between peers or in classrooms.
Senior Matthew Martignoni suggested that administrators offer an inauguration-viewing field trip in the auditorium to give students the opportunity to watch if they so please. Senior Alana Bojar disagreed, however, and said students would attend the screening to skip class rather than to wit- ness history. Even if viewed in classrooms, she said, students may not take the event seriously.
“Many people — including myself sometimes — we laugh at [Trump], turn away and focus on what we believe in,” Bojar said. “If we were to screen it in front of the entire school, we’d have the kids who were watching ... but we’d also have the kids who were ... laughing.”
President Barack Obama’s farewell address, by contrast, resonated with disappointed Americans, including some South students, Martignoni said.
“Obama’s speech ... was really a call to action for a lot of citizens saying that it’s up to us to make change in America,” he said. “If we disagree with something, we really have to act.”
Knowlton said she wished she were available to participate in the Jan. 21 Women’s March in defense of women’s rights. “Being part of a group and raising your voice — there’s nothing like it,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that I’m two years below the voting line, that still means that I have a brain and I have a heart and I know that [a violation of rights is] not something that I’m okay with happening in my country.”
When junior Elizabeth Rochon told a teacher she would be missing school to attend the Women’s March, she said she received a high five. While McFarland said he could not, as a teacher, support skipping school for a rally, he said this election has inspired “students and people across the nation to really start standing up for what they believe in.”
Shiner, who is also attending the Women’s March, said that it is important to be active and aware as these major changes take place. Despite her frustrations with the results of the election, she said missing out on the inauguration would be a loss.
“This is an event that isn’t going to happen again for a couple more years and it’s never going to happen again with this president-elect for the first time,” she said. “It’s pretty historic [and it’s] an important way to keep students invested in our country and our politics.”
“That day was remarkable,” Rinaldi said. “The crowd literally ran down the hallway, up the stairwell — students standing in Goldrick house, people listening on radios wherever they could because in 2008, most students didn’t have iPhones. … Underneath the sound of the television, you could hear the sound of students [and teachers] weeping tears of joy. For the community to have that kind of collective sense of both joy and vulnerability is so rare.”
Rinaldi said Obama’s election disproved assumptions about race relations in America.
“A black man was being sworn in as president of the United States — something that almost all of us had grown up believing probably wouldn’t happen in our lifetime. … We were witnessing something of incredible magnitude, a moment that a century from now, people will look back on in U.S. history as a historic day, as a historic first.”
“There was excitement and there was hope,” science teacher Patrick McFarland said. “That’s very different from what people are feeling [now], at least at South.”
Following Trump’s election, students treated him differently from other presidents-elect, senior Jessie Shiner said.
“We’re still analyzing all of [Trump’s] actions as if he’s still up for the position,” she said. “I think a lot less of process of still trying to figure out what it’s gonna be like.” just waiting for the inauguration, it’s a lot more of an active process of still trying to figure out what it’s gonna be like.”
Rinaldi added that Trump “still seemed to be conduct-ing himself as a candidate on the campaign trail.”
The nature of the election preceding this inauguration makes for a very different day than eight years ago; further, whether the inauguration should be screened is not as obvious, Rinaldi said. As of Tuesday, South had no official plans to screen the inauguration school-wide.
“[The history department] has no one policy of how to do the inauguration. Teachers have a lot of flexibility," history department head Jennifer Morrill added. “We [have] a curriculum about the past, but we also believe that we need to teach kids to interact with things in the present and to interpret the current political world — to be able to make teaching the past and acknowledging the present.” to do the inauguration. Teachers have a lot of flexibility,” his decisions as citizens. So it’s always a balancing act between teaching the past and acknowledging the present.”
According to sophomore Bobby Lovett, however, South too frequently looks exclusively to the history department to tackle discussions on current events. “History teachers aren’t the only people at this school who know how politics work or are aware of how real life works,” he said. “I feel like discussions like these should be spread out [throughout departments].”
Not every teacher wishes to discuss topics as divisive as this year’s election, however; McFarland said he saw no real benefit to screening the inauguration “other than to see how it’s done.” Spanish teacher Viviana Planine said that she was debating on whether or not to show it in her classes, as she “can’t stand the president because he’s mean.” “How can I watch a president that I would kick out of my classes?” Planine said. “That kind of behavior translates all over.”
The president-elect’s influence over Americans, however, is exactly why students should experience Trump’s inaugural address first-hand, according to junior Alec Liberman. “It’s a major political event that might shape the rest of our lives,” he said. “[By watching, students] would get a sense of the president, or his first speech as president, rather than [relying on hearsay] from their friends or the internet.”
Sophomore Luke Ito agreed and said that inaugurations happen only once every four years, and such, should be treated as extremely significant.
Inaugurations are not about “pushing a political agenda,” but rather about “watching a historical moment,” senior Niki Samtani said.
“I think we need to look. Of course if we turn away, ... we’ve lost something essential in our society, which is common decency, respect for law and tradition and a basic awareness of how our political system operates,” Rinaldi said.
Encouraging students to acknowledge viewpoints opposing their own is important, junior Windley Knowlton said. “You’re never going to get what you want if you’re only thinking about your own ideas.”
Senior Anna Neumann, however, said screenings would only make sense in American government-focused classes.
“I don’t think there’s one right way to deal with the inauguration or to deal with the election,” Shiner said. “It can be a very overwhelming thing for people.” She added, though, that a whole-school viewing could build community in a unique way.
A community focus, sophomore Clara Boberg agreed, would help students process the event, as students watching the inauguration together during school allows for discus- sion between peers or in classrooms.
Senior Matthew Martignoni suggested that administrators offer an inauguration-viewing field trip in the auditorium to give students the opportunity to watch if they so please. Senior Alana Bojar disagreed, however, and said students would attend the screening to skip class rather than to wit- ness history. Even if viewed in classrooms, she said, students may not take the event seriously.
“Many people — including myself sometimes — we laugh at [Trump], turn away and focus on what we believe in,” Bojar said. “If we were to screen it in front of the entire school, we’d have the kids who were watching ... but we’d also have the kids who were ... laughing.”
President Barack Obama’s farewell address, by contrast, resonated with disappointed Americans, including some South students, Martignoni said.
“Obama’s speech ... was really a call to action for a lot of citizens saying that it’s up to us to make change in America,” he said. “If we disagree with something, we really have to act.”
Knowlton said she wished she were available to participate in the Jan. 21 Women’s March in defense of women’s rights. “Being part of a group and raising your voice — there’s nothing like it,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that I’m two years below the voting line, that still means that I have a brain and I have a heart and I know that [a violation of rights is] not something that I’m okay with happening in my country.”
When junior Elizabeth Rochon told a teacher she would be missing school to attend the Women’s March, she said she received a high five. While McFarland said he could not, as a teacher, support skipping school for a rally, he said this election has inspired “students and people across the nation to really start standing up for what they believe in.”
Shiner, who is also attending the Women’s March, said that it is important to be active and aware as these major changes take place. Despite her frustrations with the results of the election, she said missing out on the inauguration would be a loss.
“This is an event that isn’t going to happen again for a couple more years and it’s never going to happen again with this president-elect for the first time,” she said. “It’s pretty historic [and it’s] an important way to keep students invested in our country and our politics.”