Author: Leah Glowacki
As time goes on, our personal experiences on November 4th may become smudges in our memories. However, in the future, we will surely view the 2008 election as an integral moment in Occidental College’s history. Last Tuesday’s inauguration of President Barack Obama represents more than a victorious conclusion to two years of challenges. It symbolizes the beginning of a search for solution. Millions of eyes around the world and within our Oxy bubble will begin scanning the headlines for signs of change.
On campus, Tuesday’s inauguration festivities were scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., but by seven o’clock a line of students had already formed outside of Keck Theater. Ultimately, attendance was so high that many students were moved to the Cooler, and Johnson 200.
Beyond the advertised complimentary donuts, t-shirts, and buttons, attendees were also greeted by a buzzing slew of reporters. NBC and KTLA, among other media organizations lined exterior steps and interior walls in hopes of capturing the energy fueled by President Obama’s Oxy connection. Reporters talked to students during the inauguration and at its conclusion, blocking their paths out of Keck to obtain exit interviews.
Mac Schoen (first-year) was among several students interviewed during his departure. “They asked me about the feeling on campus during the election and what the students expect [of President Obama],” he said. Mac was impressed by the overwhelming media coverage. “It was interesting to see they were covering the peoples’ responses.”
Lindsay Washington’s (senior) Tuesday morning interview developed into an extensive LA Times article: “Inauguration is a ‘Woo-Hoo’ Moment for Black Occidental Student,” published on Jan. 21. The article discussed her dual connection with President Obama. On one hand, she is pursuing an undergraduate degree at the same institution that Obama attended for two years. On the other hand, Washington is also African American. The article highlights her support for President Obama which, importantly, was not based on the color of her skin. “I voted for him because he’s the man we need in the White House, and his being African American was just a plus,” she said.
In addition to having their words printed in papers and posted online, many Occidental Students also had their faces televised. KCAL 9, for instance, after defining President Obama as “Occidental’s Most Famous Alum,” aired footage of students departing from Keck Theater. Cameras captured their enlivened responses to the inauguration.
Media coverage at Oxy was not limited to the morning of the Inauguration. After November 4th, the press had a noticeable presence on campus. The bookstore, for example, according to Director Anne Wolf, gained enormous media attention. “I have talked to NBC three times, and there is a link to the store’s webpage on NPR,” she said.
A new clothing line, BarOXY-wear, whose merchandise is quickly becoming a campus wide fad, drew cameras to the quaint and characteristically quiet bookstore. According to Wolf, Craig James (’82) established the foundation for BarOXY-wear before Obama even won the election. Prior to November, James approached Wolf with a design for a t-shirt that endorsed Obama and advertised his connection to Oxy. At the time, because it would symbolize an endorsement of Obama and the Democratic Party, Wolf was unable to put the shirt in production. After November 4th, however, Wolf quickly transformed James’s sketch into the “Occidental 2008, Obama 2008” t-shirt, which decorated shelves before Winter Break.
At a meeting between Diane Jackson, who is responsible for choosing the clothing stocked on campus, two vendors agreed to work with the bookstore. Other bookstore employees contemplated the inclusion of James’ shirt in a larger line, resulting in the establishment of BarOXY-wear. Around the same time as the meeting, another alum mentioned the irony of the similarity between Oxy’s address and the White House address, giving birth to BarOXY-wear’s logo, from “1600 Campus Rd. to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.”
Media focus on BarOXY-wear has increased bookstore sales tremendously. Students, parents, and legacy family members are no longer the bookstore’s only shoppers. “We have had inquiries from people that have no connection with the college,” Wolf said. According to Wolf, the buttons that were given to students free-of-charge on the morning of the inauguration, are the items most sought after by individuals outside the bubble, who are looking to expand their collections.
With the support of California manufacturers and vendors Anne Wolf and the bookstore staff were able to quickly stock store shelves with a wide-range of merchandise. New BarOXY-wear items including t-shirts, hats, pens, key-chains and even diaper covers welcomed students back to campus at the start of the spring semester.
Some may view BarOXY-wear as superfluous and a purely profit driven endeavor. However, bookstore employees and others insist that the clothes are more than material moneymakers. “People have been so excited about the Oxy-Obama connection,” Wolf said. “It helped us all become a part of the Oxy community. It really united us.”
Perhaps the most widely read publication that features Oxy is TIME magazine. The 2008 Person of the Year Issue includes photos of Obama that were taken in 1980, when he was a student at Oxy. Lisa Jack, also an Oxy student at the time, captured the photos as part of a photography project. The TIME article that accompanies the photos mentions that Jack first encountered Obama at the Tiger Cooler.
Obama’s victory achieved media coverage that will impact Occidental. Many speculate that as its name continues to pervade the news, Occidental’s presumed identity as a dental school may fade and its applicant pool may grow.
Josh Goode, a history professor at Occidental College, hopes that President Obama’s victory will popularize the school and help its reputation continue to grow. “I know a lot of people outside of Occidental who are now talking about Occidental. One would hope [that the number of applicants increases],” Goode said.
Schoen is even more optimistic about the implications of Obama’s election on the college. He described the positive effect that name recognition has in shaping high-school student’s college decisions. He surmises that Occidental will begin appearing on more college wish-lists. “Students will [be able to] skip the preconceived notion that if you haven’t heard of it, it isn’t good,” Schoen said.
Importantly, media attention, like the inauguration itself, is a victorious end point. For over a year, Occidental students, many of whom are members of Oxy for Obama or Occidental Democrats, worked tirelessly to mobilize voters and advocate for Obama’s election. On and off campus, specifically in Las Vegas, Nevada, club members relentlessly encouraged individuals to fulfill their democratic duty. Oxy For Obama members made posters, organized events, and maintained high spirits.
The presidential election challenged and energized a wide range of students. “The enthusiasm of the other students was inspiring,” Katy Dhanens (first-year) said. More importantly, it brought professors, faculty members, students, and community members together. Kamini Kuchinad (first-year) described the election as integral in allowing her to establish a supportive home at Oxy. “It helped us all become a part of the Oxy community. It really unified us,” she said.
While the election mobilized the campus and though Obama’s victory promises to bring change, its implications also raise questions. While a popularized name may increase the application pool, it could also remove the secluded, anonymous nature that makes Oxy unique. While the school will no longer be such a diamond in the rough, Occidental would become a household name because of the election of the President.
President Obama’s influence on Occidental is clearly evident to the student body, faculty members, and the watchful public eye. But, how will
Oxy influence Obama? The important information he learned in Johnson and Fowler, in the same classes that many of us currently take, may impact his decision-making. After all, as the popular BarOXY-wear shirt quotes, from DWA professor Derek Shear, who served as ambassador to Finland, during the Clinton administration, “Everything Barack needs to know as president he learned at Oxy.”
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