Allendale, Mich. (WZZM)- On one of the more historical presidential inauguration days, there is also a sense of accomplishment among Generation Y.
From the balcony at Grand Valley State University's Fieldhouse, it was hard not to notice a glow coming from the crowd.
It was laptops, Blackberrys and cell phones; students connecting to a presidential administration in a way never seen before.
For most of the students attending Grand Valley special watch party, this was the first election they voted in. This was their president.
In a venue usually set for basketball games and concerts the lights were dim, but the bleachers offered a seat to a window peering at history being made.
Large screens towered above the stage, but with a glance it was clear, those windows weren't the only ones.
Students like Lauren Davis were Facebooking, texting, MySpacing; staying connected and feeling involved.
"Today with CNN you could be online watching the feed and at the same time updating your status, saying what you're watching or what you're doing," says the GVSU sophomore. "Normally you feel like just an observer and this way you could really take part in what was going on and you felt like you were engaged."
Standing amongst the very people President Obama now serves, University leaders realize students are more politically engaged than ever.
"This generation is tuned in," says Gleaves Whitney, Director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. "They're turned on and they are out here in numbers that are really encouraging. Look at how Barack Obama launched his campaign, when so many people would come to his rallies and everybody would get a text message, they tune in right there."
So regardless of how you watched, shared or connected, a new stone has turned over, in a place where lights are dim, but optimism is bright.
"I feel that if I, 40 or 50 years from now, decided to run for president I actually do have a chance," says GVSU Sophomore Kenneth Horne.
"Everyone always tells you that you can do anything when you grow up, but up until this point right now, I've always felt that there were limitations," said junior Britteney Conner moments after President Obama was sworn in.
Estimates put the crowd totals at several hundred people for Grand Valley's event.
Close to 800 others logged in to the webstream.
In your voice
