President Bush will be sworn into office today in the
nation’s capital amid snow, political hoopla and bristling
security in the first presidential inauguration since the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
And even though many UCLA students may not even be awake in time
to see the ceremonies begin ““ Bush will be sworn in at 9 a.m.
PST ““ Inauguration Day will still be felt here on campus.
Both Bruin Republicans and Bruin Democrats have planned events
to coincide with those taking place in Washington, D.C., and
anti-war activist groups will stage a rally this evening at the
Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard to protest Bush’s
actions during his first term, specifically the war in Iraq.
Emotions will likely run high today among members of all
political parties as Bush takes office for another four years. A
hotly contested election in November revealed that Americans are
split about evenly over the political divide.
And Bush’s approval rating is the lowest for any president
in the last 50 years on the verge of taking office for a second
term ““ 49 percent, according to an Associated Press poll from
this month.
Organizers of the protest on Wilshire Boulevard say they hope to
tap into some of this political zeal when they rally at the Federal
Building at 6 p.m. in an event that will feature hip-hop
performances, an appearance by Ron Kovic, the author of “Born
on the Fourth of July,” and a march through Westwood.
The Westwood protest will coincide with similar protests
occurring in San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., said John
Beacham, an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition, the principal
group coordinating the protests.
Beacham said he is “very confident” that at least
1,000 people will turn out to the Westwood protest, and that people
are driving in from as far away as Utah and Colorado to
participate.
“It’s turning out to be quite the event,” he
said. “People want to get out there and protest Bush and
protest the war in Iraq and the money being spent on the war and
not on health care and education and things like that.”
The ANSWER Coalition, a nationwide anti-war organization, has
also been coordinating the protest with some UCLA student groups,
said Muna Coobtee, an organizer with ANSWER.
Bruin Democrats will be staging a protest of their own in
Meyerhoff Park, where they plan to string up balloons and banners
as part of “Blue Thursday,” a double entendre that
refers to the official color of the Democratic Party and their
disappointment at Bush’s re-election.
“It’s to show everyone that the Democratic Party
isn’t dead and that we’re still here,” said Derek
Lowrey, the events director for Bruin Democrats who characterized
Blue Thursday as “a nice peaceful protest.”
But while some members of the UCLA community might be downcast
today, others will be celebrating.
Some members of Bruin Republicans will join a black-tie-optional
event in downtown Los Angeles intended to celebrate the
inauguration and honor U.S. troops serving abroad.
Bruin Republicans tried to book a venue on campus for
inauguration events, but nothing was available, said Matt Knee,
chairman of Bruin Republicans.
Even students who want to do nothing but watch UCLA basketball
at Pauley Pavilion tonight will be impacted by the inauguration:
Officials with the athletic department announced that the doors to
Pauley will open a half hour early at 6 p.m. so that pregame
traffic does not conflict with the protest in Westwood.
Bush’s inauguration this morning rounds out a series of
events that have been occurring in Washington, D.C. all week at an
estimated cost of $40 million.
After Bush is sworn in ““ using the same family Bible he
used in 2001 ““ he will deliver a short inaugural address and
then join the traditional inauguration parade that goes along
Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.
Security in Washington, D.C. today is purported to be the
tightest ever deployed for an inauguration. An assortment of
federal security agencies, including the FBI, the Secret Service
and the Federal Protective Service, will be out in force to watch
for potential terrorist threats and to contain the half million
people expected to gather to watch the ceremonies.
Some officials have expressed concern that terrorists would take
advantage of the focus on the inauguration in Washington, D.C. to
strike at targets elsewhere in the country.
The Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard, which was mentioned
in a bomb threat last year made against Los Angeles area malls,
will not be upgrading its security for Inauguration Day, said
Vickie Hampton-Franklin, a spokeswoman for the FBI.
Bush has already made known some of his priorities for his
second term, the highest of which is likely to be the situation in
Iraq. The U.S. military is still embroiled in a conflict in Iraq
that shows no sign of stopping and that is claiming American and
Iraqi lives daily.
Also high on Bush’s agenda is the privatization of social
security and revitalization of the U.S. economy.
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Bush said he
will not ask senators to pass a constitutional amendment banning
same-sex marriage, a move he hinted at during his re-election
campaign.
Michael Dukakis, a visiting professor of public policy at UCLA
and a former Democratic presidential nominee, said certain issues
““ especially the war in Iraq ““ will undoubtedly find
their way high up on Bush’s priority list.
“He’s got a mess on his hands in Iraq. He’s
got to deal with that,” Dukakis said. “And there are
already people in the administration talking about phasing down the
American military effort, because it’s clearly now become
part of the problem."