President Barack Obama addressed the nation Tuesday night in an effort to unite the American people. The president concentrated on issues such as the economy and higher education during his annual State of the Union speech.

‘The United States economy is built to last,’ Obama said.

Obama stressed the importance of education, as the nation’s future resides in the youth of America. Therefore, the president said he wants to create a bill that requires students nationwide to stay in high school until they graduate or until they turn 18.

Paying for college is the most difficult part of the education process, Obama said, so students have a better chance to succeed if universities grant more opportunities to help with tuition.

Margaret Thompson, an associate history professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, said the president is aware of the difficulty of paying off college loans. Obama and his wife just finished paying off their college loans in 2004, and Obama wants that process to be easier on the new generation of students.

During his term, Obama said he spoke with college presidents and encouraged them to lower tuition and prevent it from increasing annually. He gave them an ultimatum: ‘If you can’t keep tuition costs from going up, then the funding you receive will go down.’

Members of Congress further identified with younger generations of Americans by using social media outlets like Twitter during the State of the Union address. This year marked the first State of the Union in which members of Congress were able to Tweet during the speech.

Tweeting is not clearly stated as legal in the Senate and House rulebooks, which could be altered after Tuesday night, said Anthony Rotolo, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Information Studies. Rotolo said he believes the practice of tweeting during the speech is not disrespectful, but tweets could be considered disrespectful to the commander in chief.

This practice also correlates with students in Thompson’s HST 341/PSC 329: ‘Modern American Presidency’ class, who tweeted throughout the speech on what they found most interesting.

The technique Thompson is adopting in her class is getting the younger portion of Americans more involved in the political process, Rotolo said.

The upcoming presidential election is another main topic of conversation in Thompson’s class. She believes the Republican Party is actually helping Obama and aiding in his efforts for re-election by attacking one another, she said, although she does not believe Obama is sure to win.

Said Thompson: ‘The economy is the top concern facing the American people at this time, but the common good of the people should be the main priority.’

nrcardon@syr.edu 

Published on January 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nrcardon@syr.edu