By Parvathi Nair '22

On Wednesday, January 20th, Notre Dame held a virtual watch party for students to witness the Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris. Although a majority of students attended the livestream remotely, a small group of seniors had the opportunity to watch from a classroom in the Center for Women’s Leadership. 

With Kamala Harris becoming the first ever woman of color to be sworn in as Vice President, this inauguration was especially inspiring to many students at ND. On NBC Bay Area’s segment, Ahlyssa Santillana ‘21 stated that it was “amazing to see women empowerment in all offices.” A sign of the developing diversity in government, this historic inauguration also sparked a sense of hope amongst other members of the student body. When asked how she felt after watching Biden’s address, Laila Shaikh ‘22 said, “I think the speech gave me hope for a more unified America...Biden stated many times that he was going to be a president for all people.” Hopefully, this Inauguration Day will mark a turning point in American history and bring unity to our country rather than division.