While some students planned for the inauguration weeks in advance, others at AU chose not to attend the ceremony or the parade Thursday.
Some students cited the desire to sleep in and stay warm.
"I didn't go because it was really cold today, and I didn't want to get up on a day I didn't have to go to class," said Jack Giroux, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs.
Tamara Brown, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, echoed Giroux's sentiments.
"It was cold, and I wanted to sleep," she said.
Recent illnesses spreading through the dorms kept others from attending.
"I woke up sick, and decided it wasn't worth it," said Amber Moyer, a freshman in SPA.
Still, some students had other reasons for avoiding the crowded streets around the Capitol.
"I felt even going to protest would be supportive of all the money [Bush] spent on [the inauguration]," said Katie Young, a freshman in CAS.
Others said they did not want to see President Bush.
"I didn't want to be so close to Bush that I could actually see him," said Amy Moffat, a sophomore in the School of International Service.
Pete Kirchhausen, a freshman in SPA, was even more passionate about his reasons for not wanting to attend.
"To start, I'm not a fan of George W. Bush or his cast of political insiders," he said. "He's a man who has wrapped himself in the fold of numerous warhawks who are hijacking America and taking it down a path of never-ending war, similar to Orwell's '1984.'"
Kirchhausen and a friend attended a pre-inauguration event, "Celebration of Freedom," on Wednesday.
"It was nothing more than musical entertainment and propagandic pro-war garbage. Jumbotrons, loud speakers and bad singers, the whole bit," he said. "George Bush and his whole family were in attendance, and Cheney and Bush both gave victory pep talks. They were lackluster to say the least, and ... what he delivered didn't motivate me to leave my warm bed"
