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Over the winter break, our Student Government Association president Brad Burnett had the opportunity to go on an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration and gala. ACC and the Center for Public Policy and Political Studies funded the trip. He attended the inauguration events from the grounds of the US Capitol. While he was there, he kept an online blog tracking his experience. An edited version of that blog follows. Link to the full blog at theaccent.org.
The Concert
The inaugural Concert kick-off event was spectacular. I was a few hundred yards from the stage, and while I could not see the performers very clearly from my position, there were many 'jumbotrons' which made up for the fact it was not easy to see what was going on on stage.
The crowd was great at the concert. There was a definite sense of anticipation and joy everywhere you looked. I had never seen such a tightly packed crowd until the actual inauguration, It was pretty amazing to me that there were no fights in the crowd. Usually in such a tightly packed area, there will be disagreements that lead to fights. There was none of that. It was as if people really bought into the "We Are One" theme, and it was great to see.
The performers were equally impressive. I have to admit that I was not going to go before my roommate's friend convinced me to do so. I really did not feel like I would enjoy the music.
Surprisingly enough, my favorite performer at the concert was Garth Brooks. Country is one of my least favorite genres of music, but I have to admit that he is an incredible performer. When he started playing, everyone started jumping around and dancing. Not only were all the artists who preformed great musicians, they were all incredible entertainers. Similarly, all the speakers were dynamic and touching. I left the concert exuberant and looking forward to the actual inauguration.
Getting There
Inaugural day was an experience. Three of my friends and I had been able to get tickets to the Inauguration in the silver seating area, which was the ticketed area farthest from the Capitol and there was standing-room only. We had planned to leave on the last subway train toward Washington (our apartment was located in North Bethesda, Maryland) Monday night so that we could be one of the first groups in line to get the best possible vantage to see the Inauguration. Well, we had received bad information as to when the last train departed. At 1:30 Tuesday morning, we boarded the last subway train going the opposite way to stay warm in a 24-hour McDonalds and be at the very beginning of the subway line when trains resumed running at 4:00 a.m..
The train was ridiculous. We caught the first train out and it was already packed. You would not believe how many people were trying to catch that train at 4:10! By the time we got to the Metro Center, the transfer point to two of the other four subway lines, there was no more room in our car. People had to be forcibly pushed off the train when they kept trying to pile their way into the car. When we got to our final destination, the line to leave the subway was so long that it snaked around the entire platform twice. To show you just how many people came to the Inauguration, by the Metro authority's figures, subways serviced over 800,000 rides during the 3 o'clock hour alone. That was about two and a half hours after the Inauguration had ended!
Getting Closer
After a less-than-stellar job at navigating the security perimeter that had been established, we headed to the back of a line that was so long you could not see the first security checkpoint, which consisted of a marathon-style gate that spanned an entire street. Couple the extremely long line with a lack of crowd control which led to thousands of people jumping the line, and my friends and I had a poor view of the festivities for a while.
There were two staging areas for the Silver ticket holders. There was one area with the best view which was directly behind the seated and standing-room only Purple and Red ticket holders. Once this first Silver area was filled, it was closed off, and a secondary area behind the Capitol Reflecting Pool began to fill.
My friends and I were stuck in this secondary area up against two waist-high chain link fences.
It was not long before the first of these plastic barriers fell. There were only two US Capitol police officers to look after thousands of people and about 100 yards of barricade. Once the first barricade got trampled over, four US Border Patrol agents were called in to look over the second, and last, barrier between us and the reflecting pool. The irony of US Border Patrol agents being tasked with guarding a wall was not lost on us, and they kept the crowd back for about an hour or so. When the dam finally burst and the fence was overrun, the Border Patrol could do little to hold us back and let us go.
Once this last barrier between the crowd and the open space around the reflecting pool fell, a stampede rushed down the sides of the reflecting pool to get the best spot they could. About 10 US Capitol police officers rushed to keep stop the crowd and reestablish a secondary barricade so that the situation did not get out of control and so no one would get injured. There were a few tense moments as people looked around and wondered if they would get in trouble for following the crowd into the previously restricted Reflecting Pool, but the US Capitol police were very polite and professional the entire time. They only started removing people when people tried to bypass this secondary barricade. Most importantly, no one was injured.
The Inauguration of Barack Obama
From the Reflecting Pool, we watched the Inauguration. Trees partially screened both the stage and there were unwisely placed jumbotrons, but at least we were closer. The atmosphere was much like the one I had experienced at the 'We Are One' concert, although I must admit that Mr. Obama's recitation of the Oath of Office was a bit anti-climatic. It might be because I could not see it very well, I could not hear it well due to everyone around me screaming their heads off, my overblown expectations of what it would be like, the fact that I had not slept in over 36 hours, or that the oath is very short; but I was felt with a feeling of, "That's it?" I guess that is just as well since the Founding Fathers hated pomp and wanted to differentiate the President from the royal trappings of a King.
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