This post was written by freshman Lyndsey Wajert, a Hatchet columnist.
This past Tuesday, people across the nation turned their eyes to D.C. to witness President Obama’s historic inauguration. But unless you were there, you missed something that may have disappointed you about some of your fellow Americans.

I could not help but feel embarrassed by the people who, upon seeing former President George W. Bush, insisted on jeering, booing and making obscene gestures. Of course the First Amendment gives everyone the right to express an opinion, and the election results and polls make clear how many people did not agree with his policies.

But is there no notion of a proper time, place and manner to express those views? The office of the President of the United States should be respected, even if the man in that office is not well-liked. And Inauguration Day is about the Office as much as it about the holder of that office. It celebrates an amazing thing that many Americans seem to take for granted: the peaceful transition of power from one group to another which may have vehemently opposed the first.

Now, this is not to say that I am defending a poorly executed war, or the state of our economy, or even President Bush himself. I merely believe that no president should have to walk onto a stage to be met by a sea of curses and obscenities. If the leader has only ten minutes left in his term, taunting him is not going to change the choices he made during his time in office. Didn’t people express their views on Election Day?

I understand that GW students were not the source. Those who I discussed the event with insisted that they were politically sentient enough to refrain from jeering. They realized that their negative reactions would have been a waste of energy.

But I would like to remind people that no matter your political preference or personal feelings towards a public figure, the President of the United States is not the quarterback of an opposing football team, and should not be treated that way on such an occasion. The reaction was also flatly inconsistent with the theme of the incoming President, who talks about putting an end to bitter, partisan politics.

Who can forget the December shoe-throwing incident at a news conference in Iraq? Is that the model we as Americans should follow? We do not necessarily have to cheer or clap for a disliked official, but we definitely should not heckle. Most GW students I talked to stated that they were simply quiet as Bush appeared on stage, proving that sometimes, silence actually is golden.