For the first time since their installation in 1986, Terry Allen’s ‘Trees,’ an installment of the Stuart Collection, will play something other than tinny music and original poems written by Allen’s son. On Jan. 20, passersby traversing the Eucalyptus Grove between Geisel Library and the Faculty Club will witness the trees, normally at subtle volume, broadcasting President Barack Obama’s inaugural address on full blast.’
According to a statement released by the university, Allen said it would be appropriate to welcome this new American beginning by letting his trees share the moment.
In addition to the broadcast, the UCSD community is invited to attend a number of on-campus events dedicated to showcasing the historic inauguration, including open televised viewings at the Loft, International House and Price Center East from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
However, not all students and alumni will be sharing this historic moment from the shores of Southern California; according to university spokeswoman Christine Clark, several former members of the A.S. Council have received tickets to the event, including former presidents Harry Khanna and Marco Murillo.
Khanna will be staying in Murillo and former student foundation president Emma Sandoe’s Washington D.C. apartment while visiting the capital, along with UCSD’s Heidi Laidemitt, former Revelle College Council chair, and Adam Gardner, former Thurgood Marshall College senator.
Marshall College sophomore Sean Quirk, who worked for the Obama campaign in Virginia over the summer and took Fall Quarter off to continue his efforts, has also traveled across the nation to take part in the festivities. Before officially campaigning, and prior to enrolling at UCSD, Quirk attended Camp Obama and helped form the organization ‘Silicon Valley for Barack Obama.’ He joined ‘Students for Barack Obama’ during his freshman year, and soon after lent a hand in forming student organization Progressive College Democrats.
‘I kind of felt like I had to go [to the inauguration]; I would never forgive myself if I didn’t,’ Quirk said. ‘It’s something I’ve been working toward for two years. After we won in Virginia everyone was smiling in the streets, and you knew why. Just to feel the excitement again is going to be really cool.’
Quirk, the youngest staffer in his district (he turned 19 during the campaign), was inspired to enter the world of politics in part by the romanticism of previous generations’ activism and combined with what he saw as a general apathy in today’s youth. But he said, times are changing.
‘I felt like my generation wasn’t politically active enough,’ Quirk said. ‘All the political activism in the 1960s on every campus, including our own, was awesome ‘mdash; and I wanted to be a part of that now. On Nov. 4, in Richmond, Va., when we won, there were 1,000 people on Broad Street marching. It was exactly that, my entire generation coming together.’
When he returns to UCSD after the inauguration, Quirk is looking forward to participating in a new effort to bring students together politically. He will be helping to form a new democratic college organization, which will conglomerate the three separate groups College Democrats, Progressive College Democrats and Students for Barack Obama.
Back on campus, though she is excited about the large presence of UCSD students and alumni in Washington D.C., university representative Clark also expects quite a bit of participation here ‘mdash; a
reflection of the turnout on Election Day.
‘Students were highly involved with the 2008 presidential election at UC San Diego, where the highest number of voters turned out for the Nov. 4 election in San Diego County,’ Clark said.
Clark noted in a statement that signs around campus will inform students about the inauguration events, an attempt to recapture the surges of political interest that the election first brought about.
Whether across the nation, stationed at one of several viewing venues on campus or gazing up at the trees in the eucalyptus grove, the inauguration of the 44th president, Barack Obama ‘mdash; arriving on the heels of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, ‘mdash; will not be easily missed by the students here at UCSD.
Readers can contact David’ Harvey at [email protected].