The days following the election seem to be a brief window of time when everyone stops bickering back and forth with one another for at least a few days to look forward to the upcoming presidential term. After almost two years of campaign efforts on both the parts of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, Obama has been re-elected, winning four more years in the White House.
So what's next? There are a few more months until Inauguration Day in January, which is interesting this year. For the seventh time in history, the typical inaugural Jan. 20 date falls on a Sunday, requiring the historic ceremony to be held the following Monday, Jan. 21. This decision was first made in 1821 when President James Monroe's inauguration also fell on a Sunday.
Students have high expectations for President Obama in the immediate days of his second term and through the next four years.
"The only thing I need to happen is [for] him to continue to be pro-marriage and pro-choice," senior Lindsey Naples, a self-described Republican, said. "Those were the two issues that determined my vote."
Sophomore Christopher Emch said he wants to see "an effort on the part of President Obama and both sides of Congress to try to put aside partisan issues and try to take care of the most imminent problem we have, which is the fiscal cliff."
Naples and Emch reflect two of the driving forces of this election: the economy and social issues, especially ones such as gay marriage and a woman's right to choose.
The nation's political status and movement is also becoming increasingly more important in the lives of young Americans, particularly college students. In a matter of five to 10 years, the problems that students may have once considered their parents' problems are soon going to become their own.
