Suburban schools take time to watch, discuss Obama inauguration

Some students cried. Others engaged in political discussions. And a few kept an eye out for a stuffed class dog named Flyer.

Schools all over the suburbs, recognizing that history was happening live on television, incorporated the inauguration of President Obama into the day's activities on Tuesday.

Many gave students a chance to watch the events on television or streaming video. Later in the day, the inauguration of the nation's first black president was the No. 1 topic of discussion in civics, government and social studies classrooms.

"There's excitement about the whole process," Don Fulmer, a government teacher at Lake Park High School's West Campus in Roselle, said. "(My students) were as giddy as small children, constant asking 'What's going to happen? When it is going to happen?'"

At Harper College in Palatine, students gathered at two spots on campus to watch the inauguration. Some shed tears as Obama took the oath of office, while others took pictures of the television coverage with their cell phones.

"I think this is a memorable moment for everyone," said Elk Grove Village resident Muxiang Liu, a recent immigrant from China studying graphic design at Harper. "The future of this country is very important to me, and I was inspired by (Obama's) talk of peace and strength."

Marcus Brown, a black student who watched the events at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, talked about the cultural impact of Obama's inauguration.

"Coming from where we came from, it's a big step and then some," he said. "It broadens our horizon and opens the world to us."

High schools and colleges weren't the only ones involved on Tuesday. Elementary and middle schools also took time to watch and talk about the inauguration.

Leaders of Fairview Elementary in Mount Prospect broadcast excerpts of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech over the intercom in the morning, then allowed students to watch the inauguration on television. The third-graders at River Woods Elementary in Naperville, meanwhile, held their own inaugural ball. Fifth-graders wearing black clothes and sunglasses tried to remain stoic as secret service agents, but eventually joined other students for the "Macarena."

At Hawthorn Elementary North in Vernon Hills, second-grade teacher Karen Oliver discussed the inauguration with her students.

"This is an emotional moment," she told them. "It's a time when we all feel patriotic."

Brianne Ebervein's fifth-grade class at Liberty Elementary in Carpentersville also watched the coverage, though they were interested in more than our new president.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Geneva promised to take the class's mascot, a tuxedo-clad stuffed dog named Flyer, to the inauguration ceremonies with him. Ebervein's students hoped to catch a glimpse of Flyer on TV.

"We hope he doesn't have a problem getting through security," 11-year-old Kaitlin Schab said.

• Daily Herald staff writers Kerry Lester, Jake Griffin, Elisabeth Mistretta, Melissa Jenco and Vincent Pierri contributed to this report.