Before George W. Bush takes the oath of office on Saturday, tens of thousands of Americans will descend on the capital to celebrate, protest or simply to gawk.

Several lucky Harvard Republicans will be on hand for the festivities, volunteering behind the scenes and hoping to snag coveted ball tickets.

"It's the culmination of something we've worked so hard for," says Heather A. Woodruff '03, co-chair of Harvard Students for Bush. "It's a piece of history that you may get to see only once in your lifetime."

But many others will be staying in Cambridge to attend to a more prosaic concern: finals. Several students who says they would have liked to make the trip to Washington will be staying in Cambridge to attend to their exams--even students in Government 1540, "The American Presidency," whose test begins 15 minutes after the start of the Inaugural Parade.

Those who will be attending, however, say they are extremely excited to witness the transition of power back to Republican hands.

Woodruff will take part in advance work throughout the three days.

"I feel personally invested in this," she says of the election. "The Harvard Students for Bush were there in New Hampshire for the primaries. We volunteered throughout the spring and fall. We were at the convention for the nomination speech. We supported him outside the first debate and then we stayed up all night waiting for the returns and we had a chance to celebrate--and celebrate again."

Kerla G. Moore '01, who has tickets for the inauguration ceremony, says she voted for Bush in what was the first presidential election that she was able to vote in.