I went to a meeting earlier this week with a bunch of other faculty members and students. Before the meeting proper got going, a few of the other faculty were discussing whether they should cancel their mid-day Tuesday classes because of the Inauguration.
This struck me as an obvious “No,” but they seemed to be very fired up for it. Which I find kind of mystifying. I mean, yes, Obama is the first African-American to be elected President, but the exciting thing was the election, where there was actually some suspense about how things would turn out.
The Inauguration, on the other hand, is utterly lacking in drama. There’s a short swearing-in ceremony, and then a bunch of boring speeches. There’s nothing happening that is so dramatic I feel I need to see it live, and certainly nothing that would lead me to cancel a class. (A moot point, because I don’t teach on Tuesdays this term, but still.)
I’m curious to know what other people think, though. Am I the anomaly, here? Are you sufficiently excited about the Inauguration to skip class or work to see it live? If so, why?