Why did you go to inauguration?
“I wanted to go to the inauguration because I knew it would be one of the most historic events of our lives- and I would take any opportunity to see Barack Obama speak in person. I went with my parents and my brother, who were also unbelievably excited to be there.”
Janine Petito ’11
“I worked a lot on the campaign, donated money, and did canvassing with WesDems so being at the actual inauguration was really important to me. Also I’m from DC so it seemed silly not to…I went with my whole family.”
Lena Solow ‘12
“Being from the area, I thought it would be crazy not to stay for inauguration, especially after following the campaign for so long. One of the great appeals, on top of the obvious historical significance, was just to see the sheer number and variety of people coming into DC. I was surprised, although I shouldn’t have been, at the number of African-American families coming in from all over the country. Just seeing that added to the historic meaning of the day.”
Ines Farag ’11
“I wanted to go to the inauguration to celebrate Obama and the beginning of what will hopefully be a new era in DC and for the country as a whole. I went to school in DC, where there’s been such a high level of cynicism towards government essentially since the start of the second Bush administration…so I really wanted to be in the city with so many people who were finally excited about what was to come. (Also, I live about 15 minutes from the Mall–I had to go!).”
Claire Poneman ’12
I live in Bethesda MD, just outside of D.C, so I’d been exposed to inauguration planning and hype for months, and with a house close enough to bike into the city, there was no way I wasn’t going. It’s the kind of thing that only happens once, you want to be able to say you were there even if all you saw was masses of cold people and a jumbotron screen.
Nora Vogel ’11
What was the inauguration like?
“There were quite a few tears shed. For what he represents, right when he took his pledge, everybody felt like, ‘OK, this is really happening,” same as when he was elected.”
Connor Larkin ’12
“The inauguration was incredible. Of course there had been speculations as to the size of the crowds, but it’s hard to describe how sheerly enormous they were in person. My cousin and I slept over the night before at my dad’s office (he works downtown). We woke up at 6 AM and looked out the window and people were already walking, waving American flags. The night before many of the streets downtown had already been closed off, so I walked around with my family…without cars DC seemed so quiet…there was a sense of readiness.”
Claire Poneman ’12
“Inauguration day was freezing, but the excitement in the atmosphere was so amazing that I didn’t hear a single person complain. You could definitely tell that this was an historic day and the whole crowd recognized that. I remember thinking that I have never seen so many happy people (or so many people in general, for that matter) in one place all excited about the same thing, resting their hopes in the same person.”
Janine Petito ’11
“I thought I would cry, but most of what I felt (in addition to the aching of my bones) was excitement for things to actually start happening. And it felt really good to see Bush leave at the end of the ceremony. We all sang ‘na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.’ Despite having one hour of sleep, and standing in the cold for most of the day, being there with friends and the massive crowd was incredible. I felt hopeful, and that the phase of disillusionment and frustration with the government had mostly ended.”
Ines Farag ’11
What was the crowd like?
“I was standing at the Washington Monument, strategically placed in front of one of the megatrons. There were a lot of families around me, so it didn’t shape up to be the Woodstock-ish experience I was hoping for, but the atmosphere was friendly nonetheless.”
Ines Farag ’11
“There was cheering and flag-waving at all the right parts of the speeches, “amen”s during the prayers, and general grumbling whenever Bush or Cheney appeared onscreen. People even sang along when they played ‘This Land Is Your Land’. But there wasn’t the party atmosphere of election night, the cheering was kind of solemn, more subdued. Also people talked to each other very freely, which was nice. It’s hard to avoid when standing shoulder to shoulder with the same people for five hours, but even when walking around people chatted a lot. College kids, old people, families, black, white, whatever.”
Nora Vogel ’11
“Every so often people would start chanting “Obama! Obama!” We were all in the same boat: freezing and slightly impatient, but so excited. Everyone had hand and foot warmers, snacks, cameras. At the end of Obama’s inaugural address, everyone started hugging each other and saying “See you here in four years!”
Claire Poneman ’12
In 2007 I went to the “End the War Now” march downtown. There was a similar feeling of camaraderie among the crowd, but at the Inauguration everyone was united for a happy cause. It was different from election night at Wesleyan because looking around at the inauguration, you had no idea wear these people were from, just that they had traveled to support Obama.
Claire Poneman ’12
“My family is lucky enough to know a congressman from the south, who was able to give us seated tickets in the orange section, which was the first section in front of the capitol, near the musicians that played during the ceremony. I feel like the sitting crowd I was a part of was somewhat less outwardly emphatic than the people standing behind us- somehow when you’re not standing in the huge mass, you’re less tempted to scream and jump for joy (as the rest of the mall was). It seemed like some people in the area felt the need to act more dignified. Regardless, it was amazing to be up so close. Chanting and singing broke out on occasion when people couldn’t contain their excitement.”
Janine Petito ’11
How did the experience compare to election night?
“My inauguration experience felt like an extension of the celebration of election night. It was incredible to be there and finally see the man many of us voted for and supported throughout the election taking the presidential oath at the capitol. After eight long years, seeing Obama on the podium made me feel like it’s finally OK to be an American again.”
Janine Petito ’11
An anecdote: my cousin and I were walking back to my dad’s office after the ceremony had ended. We were on D Street, just minding our own business, and we literally walked into Colin Powell. He had a small group of security around him, but said “hi” and seemed friendly.
Claire Poneman ’12
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