On Jan. 20, college students across the country gathered at campus auditoriums, theaters and student unions to watch Barack Obama become America's 44th president.  University of Massachusetts Provost Charlena M. Seymour began an event that welcomed over 1,000 people by encouraging the crowd to say "oh, happy day" with her.  At Middle Tennessee State University, students were seen with tears on their faces as President Obama took the oath of office. Columbia University, President Obama's alma mater, set up a giant screen on the steps of its library where thousands of students gathered to watch the inauguration.  Some professors moved their classes to that location or canceled them altogether, citing the inauguration's historic significance.  However, some faculty members told the Columbia Spectator that classes hadn't been canceled for either of President Bush's inaugurations, and several felt that students should attend regular classes and watch the ceremonies later. The College Republicans at the University of Arizona objected to the screening of President Obama's inauguration by UApresents, an official department of the university, and by extension, they argued, of the state.  They believe the screening should have been sponsored by a political organization. Still, many Arizona students enjoyed the festivities, cheering loudly when President Obama mentioned restoring America's higher education in his inaugural address. At the University of Illinois, the Asian American Cultural and LGBT Resource centers planned to host events during the inauguration, and the school's African American Cultural Center sent 50 students to Washington to participate in the events surrounding the inauguration.  Ten of those students blogged about their experiences on U of I’s Web site

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