I was bewildered to read the letters from Brian Marchetti '93, Richard Schlenger '74, and Bud Brooks '83 ex-pressing varying degrees of outrage over current Brown students celebrating Barack Obama's election ("American Pride," Mail Room, March/April).

Regardless of one's political persuasion, it should be obvious that the students were conveying pride in the historic election of the first African American U.S. president while reflecting the embarrassment so many felt with George W. Bush at the helm. These students are in the class of 2009, meaning they were in junior high when President Bush took office. Sadly, he is essentially the only president they have known.

President Obama won a decisive victory in November with a record turnout. Conversely, President Bush left office in January with the lowest favorability rating of any president since polling began. That juxtaposition puts these students' opinions in good company indeed.

In fact, I was one of the millions of Americans who stood freezing on the National Mall on January 20 energetically waving their American flags as Obama took the oath of office. We patriots celebrated the transfer of leadership and the fact that we can once again be proud of our president and our government. We never stopped being proud of our country.

Tim Barton '85
Hillsborough, N.J.