Today marks the 100th day of President Barack Obama’s current term in office. News media hype aside, the President’s 100th day is an important milestone for the American public’s perception of the Executive Branch and has served as a definite marker for policymaking decisions since the times of FDR. The actions taken by the president within his first five months are indicative both of his priorities and of his leadership style. Most importantly, however, the 100th day unofficially cements the tone the president wishes to set throughout the remaining three-plus year in office.

It is clear that many of the response actions taken by the Obama Administration have had disputable outcomes. But I would like to put politics aside, and rather, focus on the shift in political tone felt across the United States. According to a poll by ABC News and The Washington Post, 69 percent of Americans approve of President Obama’s job thus far, the highest presidential approval rating at this point in 20 years. Additionally, according to a poll by CBS News and The New York Times, 72 percent of Americans said they were optimistic for the next four years. Certainly the oscillating markets have turned some heads and the abandoned torture investigations have questioned the basics of accountability. However, the current efforts of the federal government to robustly respond have instilled a new sense of confidence, one that was largely misplaced in the past eight years.

The tone of my column, The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes, has been to elucidate the perspectives of the apathetic and disaffected generation of young adults who grew up with the failures of the Bush administration and who came of age in the time of bull markets and terrorist attacks.

Looking at issues including healthcare, the economy and foreign policy, I have attempted to shed light on the unique position of Generation Y in a fractured political climate. The disappointment shouldered by the Class of 2009 to see the federal government respond properly in times of crisis colored a very specific perception of the capabilities of our leadership. And that outlook, I believe, we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

I began this year — with the column “9-11, Katrina Looms Large for the Class of ’09” –– by addressing these identical issues of leadership, engagement and political approval, and it is interesting now, in my last column, to think how much has changed since the fall. Under the stress of an upcoming election and mounting diplomatic setbacks, I wondered in September, “If the U.S. government cannot fully protect its people from foreign or domestic disasters, what faith do we have in our elected officials? Who, if not the government, can keep us safe from harm?” Yet now at the end of April, and on Obama’s 100th day in office, the level of pessimism reflected in those questions no longer seems to exist at such a pronounced degree.

When contemplating how college students would mobilize and act in the 2008 presidential election, I speculated, “Will a crisis of confidence deter young voters? Or will we be moved to actively rebuild the federal framework in order to prevent future disillusionment?“ But once again, these pessimistic concerns were strongly counteracted when between 21.6 and 23.9 million young adults voted in the November election, according to Pew Research Center. Ironically, a veil of apathy and culture of fear somehow produced the biggest promoters of activism and strongest supporters of hope.

My intention this year has been to pinpoint the extent of college students’ shared apathetic perspective, and the 100th day mark is the appropriate time to re-evaluate what new tone has been set. The Bush administration failed to show our generation the proper strength of the U.S. government. Will the Obama administration succeeded in wholly reversing that outcome?

We are less naïve now, and do not harbor comparable feelings of invincibility. We may reside far above Cayuga’s waters, but this year’s national challenges have effectively awoken college students to the struggles of the real world. It appears, at least today, that the American public’s perception of the Executive Branch is charged with hope.

I no longer live in fear of what the government cannot do.

To my past editors — Jonny Lieberman ’08, Olivia Oran ’08 and David Wittenberg ’09 –– thank you for encouraging me to start writing and for giving me the confidence to tackle pertinent issues. To my current editor –– Sammy Perlmutter ’10 –– the hours we spend together editing every word and every sentence are some of my most thought provoking and hilarious experiences. To my parents and brother –– who are without fail the first to read The Sun every morning –– the perspectives you offer to each column continue both to enhance my approach to problems and to broaden my understanding of complex issues. And finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my sister –– Erica Temel ’06, former editor-in-chief extraordinaire –– whose love for The Sun will never diminish and whose insights will be reflected in my writing for the rest of my life.

There is a great line in The Last Waltz, a film of The Band’s final concert together in 1978, which has always resonated with me when I think of transitions and milestones: “[It is the] beginning of the beginning of the end of the beginning.” As Obama moves into the next phase of his presidency, as the nation embraces a resuscitated culture of confidence and as young adults redefine their expectations of leadership, we will all be attuned to the outcomes from the end of this beginning.

And as for me, a graduating senior, I am hopeful that this optimism will sustain itself in the next 1,360 days to come. But maybe I’m just a girl with kaleidoscope eyes.