Ora Nelson Staff Writer Trojans expressed their thoughts and expectations for President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural address on Wednesday, Jan. 20. “The inauguration is so symbolic no matter who becomes president,” said Michael Slobodchikoff, chair of Troy’s political science department. “It's symbolic of the peaceful transfer of power that really sets the United States apart as a democracy from many other countries. “This year's inauguration is going to be very different.” “Well, I'm sure President-elect Biden is going to speak about unity,” said Richard Ledet, an associate chair of the political science department. “That's often a common theme, but I would like for him to speak a little bit more about stability coming from the executive branch.” “I expect a lot of rebuilding and re-learning,” said Jack Miller, a sophomore sports management major from Bradenton, Florida. “I expect our country to become more tolerant again and expel more hatred that has become so prevalent within the past few years.” With continued COVID-19 concerns and social distancing guidelines still in place, many believe that the Biden administration will take steps to address the current COVID-19 policy and regulations. “I think that COVID has really hit Pike County and Troy very hard,” Slobodchikoff said. “We've had a lot of deaths and our ICU beds are filled. “I think a lot of people will be very interested to see how Biden proposes advancing the vaccinations. I think that that's a big deal that affects us here in Pike County.” “This (fighting a pandemic) is the kind of thing that you need a top-down, centralized approach to dealing with right,” said Ledet. “…I'm hoping that the Biden administration gives us a unified national plan, so we can start taking steps to deal with this in a more coherent and systematic manner.” Students at Troy have also expressed an interest in the Biden administration’s COVID-19 policy and vaccine distribution plan. “There's other countries that took a stronger response to COVID, and now they're able to go to concerts and things like that,” said Catherine Carl, president of Troy’s College Democrats. “So, I think that he's going to put protocol in place that protects us, and we'll be able to get back to that normalcy we’ve been missing. “I'm expecting him to be more science-based with his decisions like acknowledging the pandemic, global warming and things like that.” “At a local level, I think Biden becoming president will be mostly shown through the vaccine rollout plan he wants to accomplish,” said Madi Holmes, a senior graphic design major from Prattville, Alabama. “We might see vaccines being given out at a faster rate here pretty soon.” Going forward into the new presidency, Slobodchikoff advises students to “know the difference between news and commentary.” “I do want to tell students that, while often we think that the events taking place in Washington don't affect us personally, they do have a profound effect on us,” Slobodchikoff said. “It's important, seeing as students are the next leaders of this country, that we really pay attention to what's going on and that we gather information and become educated as to what's going on.” Along with an updated COVID-19 policy, Ledet expects Biden to “bring less chaos across the board to domestic and foreign politics” during his time in office. “Make sure your engagement in politics is informed engagement, not misinformed engagement,” said Ledet.
Staff Writer
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