Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By Rich Salit
Journal staff writer

In the mess hall at Naval Station Newport, the flat-screen TVs on the wall, which often are ignored, were the center of attention for a group of students from the Naval Academy Preparatory School.

Wearing khaki pants and black jackets, they had finished eating before Barack Obama took the oath of office. Many are only 18 and had voted in a presidential election for the first time. Quite a few are members of minority groups.

"It's so historic," said Ernest J. Halton, 18, of Hockessin, Del., who looked forward to being in the mess hall at noon, virtually the only place he would have a chance to watch the ceremony today. Halton, who is part Native American and part African-American, said, "I wish I could have been there [in Washington]."

"I've never been interested in a presidential race before," Halton said, and he praised Mr. Obama as someone who "can actively bring change and do something for this country and this world."

André Colden, also an African-American, moved his dining hall chair right up to the TV.

"It's the first [inauguration] for me," said Colden, 19, of Charleston, S.C. Having a black person win the presidency "shows that the world has changed in a positive way ... It makes me more proud to be in the military."

Colden's phone rang right after Mr. Obama took the oath and the students around him applauded. It was a text message from his mother.

"Obama ! Obama!" it read

 Tags  inauguration

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