Many came together this past November with hopes to elect a government official that would not only bring a real change to Washington, but would be able to lead the country out of the many battles it is facing today.

This hope is what brought President Barack Obama to office last Tuesday and is what now carries many Americans into the optimism of a brighter future ahead.

With the first two days setting the pace for President Obama, I believe the hope still carries on. His declaration for “a clean break from business as usualâ€Â appropriately describes his initial steps taken as president.

He froze the salaries of senior aides working at the White House, who made more than $100,000 a year, stating that American “families are tightening their belts and so should Washington.â€Â

He required members of his administration to attend an ethics briefing that would discuss the ethical standards of the new administration. He was even sworn in as president a second time, to override the fumbling of the first.

Perhaps most importantly, on Thursday the president ordered the Guantánamo Bay detention camp to be closed “as soon as practicableâ€Â and no later than January 2010.

The detention camp was the target of much controversy for the Bush administration when it allowed the CIA to use secret interrogation tactics on detainees that were not outlined in military procedures.

In his executive order, the president formally banned the use of torture at any of the CIA̢۪s secret prisons and called for an immediate assessment of the current situation to make sure humanitarian standards set by the Geneva Convention were met.

Immediate steps are being taken to resolve key issues that plagued the previous presidential term.

But much still lies ahead for the administration. We are in the midst of a severe economic crisis that has been felt across the nation. Stores are closing or laying off employees, and the all-powerful banking industry actually now seems like a collapsible entity.

The economic situation is also affecting our very own campus. The full opening of Madden Library has been delayed, and the acceptance of freshmen for the fall semester has stopped early, leaving out many qualified students.

We also face the potential for future increases to tuition fees, as recommended by the governor as a method to deal with the budget crunch.

With the hope people placed on the new president comes the immense weight of high expectations. When the four-year term is over, the American public will not forgive irresponsible leadership because of the new president̢۪s ethnicity.

President Obama will none the less be criticized for every measure taken towards resolving key issues, such as the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the financial crisis our country faces today.

Perhaps even more force will be placed on the criticism because of the important fact that so many people simply believe his team can lead this country toward a better place.

The White House’s updated Web site proclaims “Change has come to America,â€Â and I, along with many others, sure hope so.