Biden

Some notes from the Inauguration

I spent almost the entire day yesterday watching the inauguration and official events afterwards. There are three college-related notes I want to quickly pass on.

1. Joe Biden went to the University of Delaware, and then on to Syracuse Law School. He is the first president since Ronal Reagan not to earn a degree from an Ivy League school.

Add to it that last October, Amy Coney Barrett became the newest justice on the Supreme Court—and the only whose law degree isn’t from Harvard or Yale. Maybe we’ve past Peak Ivy? That would be nice.

2. One thing I like to stress about college and about why finding the right fit is so important is that for many people, their college isn’t just a “piece of paper” but an integral part of their identity. Want evidence? Check out Representative Jim Clyburn wearing his South Carolina State University ball cap on the inauguration platform. That’s dedication to his alma mater, where he graduated in 1961.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News / Getty Images

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News / Getty Images

3. Speaking of HBCU power, all the commentators on MSNBC actually stopped their talking and commenting to just let the audience listen to the Howard University marching band for a minute. Sorry, U. Delaware band, but they just talked right over you.

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Banner photo by Zoe Herring.