Students sound off on State of the Union

President Obama spoke to several million Americans on the rebirth of the economy, the necessity of equal opportunity and the value of diplomacy at his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Duke's chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society hosted a watch party for students interested in the speech. Here's what some of them had to say afterward:

“President Obama laid out a clear agenda for what he wants to see in the next two years of his presidency. The biggest highlights were the later remarks on what better politics should look like in this country, both for his political agenda and for how national politics should be run, and it was nice to see that.” —junior Jay Sullivan.

“I loved that [Obama] brought up marriage equality as a civil right.” —junior Shreya Vora.

“I thought the president was really sassy, which I guess was a hallmark of it being his last term, but he was also really firm that if congress wants to push things through that he doesn’t like, he’s going to veto. Personally, I really approve of the president and his policies—I liked his strong stances on poverty and improving life for people under the poverty line. I agree with making community college free, but I’m not sure how he’s going to do it.” —junior Sara Houck.

“It’s interesting to hear him after six years in office, thinking back to six years ago when I was first entranced by him running for office. It’s interesting to see how much he’s evolved and how much he’s gone through.” —sophomore Roma Sonik.

“I was really impressed by everything the president had to say, especially his promise to expand community college access and his firm stance on ISIS and I’m excited to see how he brings these promises into his last two years in office.”—sophomore Dana Raphael.

“I thought Obama was extremely animated tonight, I thought there was a strong crowd response so it will be interesting to see how his policies are implemented in the coming years.” —junior Emma Campbell-Mohn.