Inauguration Day

Inauguration+Day

Annie Tan

What’s that sound? It’s so loud and accompanied by shouts of joy. That’s because on January 20, 2021, Joe Biden became the president of the United States of America and Kamala Harris became the first woman and POC to be Vice President. It was most definitely one of the biggest events that will go down in history books. 

The majority of this country is hopeful to see changes that Biden and Harris will make. One student draws from their experience of having immigrant parents, “As a daughter of immigrant parents, obviously having Joe Biden as a president brings a lot of hope because of the promises he made that he would help them get some sort of document to make them residents/legal…,” Jimena Saldana, ’22. The student also is excited by Biden’s claim to raise minimum wage to fifteen dollars. However, the student understands that no candidate is ever perfect. America would like to see big changes and has high expectations for the President and the Vice President. 

Here are a few things Biden did on his first day in office. Biden reversed Donald Trump’s move to withdraw from the World’s Health Organization, froze student debt temporarily, abolished the Muslim ban, strengthened legal protection for Dreamers, and much more. As for Harris, she plans to use her power to enforce stricter gun laws, offer more opportunities for citizenship, and etc. 

As much as the country is relieved to finally have a new

 president, many agree that Biden and Harris are better than Trump and Pence, “but they’re far from ideal,” Ali Schreibman, ‘22. As mentioned briefly previously, no candidate is ever perfect. Based on past experiences with officials, it’s a struggle to find the “perfect” candidate. 

Following the inauguration, memes quickly spread, but it’s not about the two people in question. Instead, it is about Senator Bernie Sanders and his attire during the inauguration. A Whitney Young student, Fallou Dia ’22 says, “An old man sitting with mittens. Adorable.” Unlike other guests who wore fancy and designer outfits, Bernie wore a winter jacket along with mittens that were made for him by a teacher. Ever since the inauguration, memes are continuing to surface. Bernie Sanders single handedly broke the internet unintentionally by being himself.