Students go to D.C. for Obama

By Megan Hurt

UK student Dominique Comer was on the Washington D.C. Metro Monday when a fight broke out among the crowd. One woman stood up in the midst of all the people and yelled, “Remember what we are here for.” With that, the fighting stopped.

What they were there for was to witness the swearing in of the 44th President, Barack Obama.

More than 1 million people were at the National Mall and along the inauguration parade route yesterday, according to estimates by the Associated Press. Among them were UK students like Comer who wanted to witness a piece of history.

“We were standing in line and could look down onto the interstate,” said Comer, a second-year pharmacy student. “You could look down and see all these people standing in line. I knew then that even if I couldn’t see the ceremony, I was excited just to be a part of the event.”

Students who attended the event were able to be a part of a diverse group of people coming together to watch the inauguration.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” said Chuck Clenney, an English senior and general manager of WRFL. “It’s the most diverse collection of people I’ve ever seen …some people are from Florida, some people are from California — today I met a girl from Cameroon. People came from all over to see this event.”

UK students traveled over 10 hours in heavy traffic to join the crowds in Washington D.C., where they attended some of the weekend inauguration events.

One of the more memorable events was the concert held for the new president Sunday night, said Nick Whitt, a communications junior.

“There were a ton of celebrities there. I will never again see that many famous people together at one time,” Whitt said. “At the inauguration we were far away, watching Obama on the jumbo screen, but at the concert we were pretty close.”

The Associated Press reported the crowd stretched from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, a path about two miles in length. Comer had to wait in line for five hours before getting into the National Mall.

Even while waiting, the energy throughout the crowd was exciting, she said.

“In line random people would yell things like ‘Good morning America! Are you ready?’ ” she said. “People were tired and anxious to get to their spots, but the crowd would wake everyone up.”

Once inside the National Mall, the feeling in the crowd inspired the students.

“It was insane,” Whitt said. “I have been to some concerts but I have never seen that many people that excited. People were jumping up and down and hugging each other.”

When Obama was sworn in, the crowd became overcome with emotion, White said.
Comer said after Obama’s swearing in, the situation finally seemed real.

“It was emotional to listen to his voice echo throughout the air,” Comer said. “I thought ‘Wow. This is really happening. Obama is really our 44th president.’ ”

Even though many of the UK students had seen Obama speak in person before, his inaugural speech felt completely different.

“I saw him twice before and it was not the same as this time,” White said. “It was very inspiring. He answered everything America wanted to hear. I was emotional during his entire speech.”

The emotion during Obama’s speech was felt through the crowd, Clenney said.

“People went completely insane,” he said. “During the inaugural speech, people were bursting into tears, shouting, cheering.”

Even though students who traveled to Washington to attend the inauguration events had missed classes, they felt they made the right decision.

“It was worth it,” Comer said. “It was worth driving for 10 hours, worth waiting in line, worth standing in the cold. Definitely worth it.”