Students receive inauguration tickets, meet with Sen. Johanns

It’s official.

Sixteen Doane students will witness what is arguably the most historic presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, all because of newly-elected Neb. senator Mike Johanns.

Johanns met with the student group on Jan. 16 to discuss his new role as senator and to present them with 17 of the 240,000 tickets for the swearing-in ceremony.

“I really appreciate him considering us when he allocated his tickets,” senior Amy Applegarth said. “He’s allowed us to witness history.”

While the students are able to witness history, Johanns discussed their futures.

He said with the current economic situation, the students’ futures held more than a change in presidency.

“The economy is as bad as it’s been since the Great Depression,” Johanns said. “And that impacts you (the students) more than my generation because you will be paying for everything that’s proposed.”

Johanns said when he listed the 10 top problems for the United States, the economy would be part of numbers one through eight. Although the economic future may appear bleak, he said supported president-elect Barack Obama’s economic plan because it would directly impact Nebraska residents.

The plan would assist the state with the cost of Medicaid, providing high speed Internet in rural areas and tax cuts, he said.

Johanns said he made the transition from Secretary of Agriculture to Neb. senator when he learned that previous senator Chuck Hagel would not seek re-election. He said he felt fully prepared to take on the responsibilities of his new role.

Senior Taylor Foy, however, seemed hesitant about the change.

“It’s clear that he’s in a new role that he’s not used to,” Foy said. “But it does sound like he’s got a list of goals that he would like to accomplish,”

Although Johanns said he stayed busy in Washington D.C., he tried to make time to connect with his constituents.

“I plan to make trips home, but weekends just are not enough,” Johanns said. “It’s a big state so I’ll be booking time during recesses.”

While the students said they were appreciative to meet with their senator, they felt disconnected from him.

“Although he was nice, I felt like he had a limited amount of time to spend with us,” Applegarth said. “It seemed to be more public relations for him than a genuine meeting.”