Basic HTML Version
Page 9
Campus Review
January 28, 2013
The Inauguration: At First Glance
by Atawanna Royal, Department of Campus Life
On Nov. 9, 2008, I stood in line to cast my
vote at a local polling station in Clayton
County. I was seven months pregnant and
I stood in line for seven hours, which to
me was a small price to pay to carry out
my civic duty and be a part of history.
Unable to travel to the Presidential
Inauguration per my doctor’s orders in
2009, I swore that if I had the opportunity
in 2013, I would seize it. That is exactly
what my family, friends, and others did.
The winter chill in the air was unlike the
airs felt here in Georgia once we arrive in
Washington D.C., but it was no match for
the adrenaline and anxiety I felt as I
couldn’t wait to be in the multitude of
those ready to witness the swearing in of
our 44th President, Barack Obama.
There were vendors selling everything
from t-shirts and mugs to buttons and
plaques displaying our President’s picture
along with various patriotic sayings. As
we navigated down the crowded streets,
walking almost penguin-like due to the
massive crowd, you could feel the excite-
ment in the air as we begin to get closer
and closer to the inauguration viewing
site. From where we were standing, there
were large jumbo-trons lining the side of a
massive field of the National Mall. Even
as far back as we were standing, and over
the sea of hundreds of thousands of peo-
ple ahead of us, we could still see the reds,
whites, and blues that so elegantly deco-
rated the inauguration site at the capital.
Among the sea of people showing their
patriotic spirit with “Obama gear” on,
were loud cheers and thunderous applauds
as the jumbo-trons showed the entry of
various national officials.
When President Obama stepped forward
to be sworn in, the silence that swept over
the crowd was almost eerie. As he deliv-
ered his inauguration speech, everyone
was hanging on to his every word. There
were rounds of applause when the
President spoke of a decade of war ending
and an economic recovery beginning, and
the openness and diversity of our country,
and equality.
Many people may say that they could get
the same experience as we did by watch-
ing the Inauguration right here at home or
anywhere else and, yes, I agree that
watching this historical event is special
from any location. But the sense of civili-
ty, the sense of pride, and the sense of
unity felt during this moment couldn’t
have been felt any stronger anywhere else
then amongst the hundreds of thousands
standing in the winter airs at our nation’s
capital.