Crowds gathered outside on a cold Monday in our nation’s capitol to witness the second Presidential Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Members of the Pepperdine program in Washington, D.C., attended the festivities and participated in a tradition that is as old as the United States itself.
“I enjoyed the inauguration and feel everyone should experience this once in their life!” wrote senior Chris Patrick in an email about his experience at the inauguration.
Patrick was one of about 800,000 people in attendance at the National Mall to watch Obama’s second inaugural address.
The inauguration came in the middle of a week of events that began Saturday, Jan. 19 with the National Day of Service celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Since Inauguration Day is actually Jan. 20, Obama was officially sworn in to his second presidential term at a private ceremony on Sunday, and he re-took the oath of office at the public event on Monday to appear before the nation and deliver his second inaugural address outlining his plans for his second term in office.
“I was beyond inspired by Obama’s speech and feel he touched on every point he wants to focus on this term, just not in detail,” said Patrick, who was close enough to hear the President’s speech in front of the Capitol building. To get as close as Patrick was to the ceremony, he had to receive a ticket from a senator or congressional representative. Those who were unable to get a ticket had to observe the proceedings from the National Mall where large screens were set up.
“I would say that unless you were within 300 yards of the stage, your only way to see the events was to look up at the giant screens set up all along the mall,” said junior Evan Shorter.
Each member of Congress receives only 100 to 200 tickets that are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“Unless you are one of the ones lucky enough to get tickets from your representative, there is really no way to witness the ceremony in person,” Shorter said.
Shorter and other Pepperdine students had to change their initial location once a viewing screen on the north side of the Washington Monument began malfunctioning. The Pepperdine students returned to the Washington, D.C., house to watch the remainder of the ceremony on television. While some, such as Shorter, were able to watch the speech at another location, many had to watch a replay of the event.
“I will never go again unless I have VIP seats,” Patrick wrote.
After the inauguration, the ceremonial balls and special events began with the inaugural parade as President Obama joined in the festivities before getting back to work on the many issues confronting the U.S. and as Pepperdine students return to their internships all over the capitol.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Follow Patrick Rear on Twitter: @pgrear92
