While one group of high school students traveled across the country to catch the historic day, a group of arts college students walked out of classes in protest.

A dozen Golden Valley High students stood on the crowded roads of Capitol Hill to watch the president-elect’s inauguration first-hand, bearing witness to the start the nation’s next presidency.

At California Institute of the Arts, about 50 students sat in a campus building and chanted instead of going to class, a planned protest by United for Progress — “a student-run local, grassroots organization focused on getting individuals politically involved and engaged.”

Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States on Friday, vowing to drain power from Washington elites and always put “America first” in its dealings with the world at a moment of transformative political change.

He arrived at the White House for the first time as President just before 5 p.m. ET following a day of tradition marking the power shift in the nation’s capital.

In a time-honored ceremony on the flag-draped West Front of the Capitol earlier in the afternoon, Trump placed his left hand on a family Bible and another that belonged to Abraham Lincoln and promised to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. As light rain began to fall on a crowd stretching toward the Washington Monument, Trump took the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts with the new first lady, Melania, by his side.

President Trump signs first bill into law

Trump’s inaugural address centered on the themes that animated his stunning outsider campaign, which shattered political conventions and gave voice to heartland voters who felt badly let down by professional politicians.

Though he paid tribute to outgoing President Barack Obama, the President sketched a vision of America that came across as a repudiation of the last administration. He promised to restore the nation’s strength and purpose and to rebuild it from within, vowing to “bring back” American jobs, borders, wealth and dreams.