As President Bush sat comfortably sheltered in his limo, thousands of protestors lined Pennsylvania Avenue fighting the rain, police, and enraged Republicans caught off-guard. This past inauguration drew the largest number of protestors since Nixon’s inauguration in 1973.

Over 20,000 people participated to express concerns ranging from the environment and woman rights to corporate interest in politics. Signs reading “Hail to the Thief” and “The Day That Democracy Died” crowded the streets of D.C. One of the more raunchy signs read “Smelly Bush and Crooked Dick.”
The weather didn’t seem to diminish the protestor’s energy or commitment to making a statement.

They surprised many Republicans sporting fur coats and cowboy hats, not expecting such a hostile reception of Bush.
Many protestors would have been in the streets regardless if Bush had won, but whatever their motives one thing is certain: people are not happy with the 2000 election.

More than a dozen Guilford students made the long drive to express their discontent over this year’s election.

“My job, as I saw it, wasn’t to convince people to go but to find a way for them to get there,” said first year Naman Hampton, a key organizer on campus.

Guilford students represented a number of issues.

“I would have gone whether it was Bush or Gore because I think our electoral system is more beholden to corporate interest and big money than to the will of the people,” Hampton said.

When asked if he thought the protests accomplished anything, Hampton said that it was more difficult for the media to downplay the outrage over this year’s election. It gave first time protestors a chance to experience what may be the beginning of a real movement.
Aliene Howell, another Guilford protestor, said, “it wasn’t right that the Supreme Court decided the President instead of the American people.”

However, not all Guilford students were protesting. Michael Henderson, a first year student at Guilford and a member of the Young Republicans, was there in support of Bush.

When asked why he thought the protests were so large, Henderson attributed it to fears over abortion and civil rights, the Florida voter complications, and feelings of disfranchisement. He thinks, “Bush is willing to modify some of his positions or proposals as long as the end product is still what he thinks is good for the country.”

Now that the inauguration is over the true test begins.

Many people don’t seem to buy Bush’s “Compassionate Conservatism” but whether they’ll do anything is left for time to tell. David Barnhill, a religious studies professor, speaks for many liberals when he describes Bush as “a right wing who is trying to put on moderate clothing.”

But will Bush continue to be met with such resistance?…apparently a significant amount of people empathize with Barnhill’s reaction, “God I hope so”.