Inauguration Day was a chance for some AU students to witness a historical and inspiring ceremony in the company of millions of other Americans, but for others it meant freezing in endless lines without ever catching a glimpse of newly-inaugurated President Barack Obama.
Things did not work out so well for Aaron Rosenberg, a high-school senior from Des Moines, Iowa, who stayed with a friend at AU. Although he had a ticket to the purple section seating area, Rosenberg was not admitted onto the National Mall in time to see the ceremony. Rosenberg said he arrived at 7 a.m. and waited in line for four hours before word spread through the line that security officers had stopped letting spectators inside.
"I was frustrated, but it happens," he said. "And I'm still here, which is pretty cool."
Rosenberg was not alone in his Inauguration Day disappointment. More than 4,000 blue and purple ticket-holders never made it into the Capitol grounds because congressmen had distributed more tickets than the amount of space available and because the number of people overwhelmed the security checkpoints, according to The Washington Post.
The line of ticket-holders that had been growing all morning quickly disintegrated into a mob once the purple gates opened, leaving thousands of angry people outside shouting at the guards and chanting "pur-ple, pur-ple."
Rosenberg said he was confused in all the chaos.
"Everyone was all bunched up and we didn't really know what was going on," he said.
Tracey Swan, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said she was unable to get a good view of the ceremony. Swan left soon after Obama got on stage because she was cold, she could not see anything and she had gotten elbowed in the nose on her way through the crowd. However, Swan said she still enjoyed the experience.
"It was kind of cool to see the crowds and be at the Mall during it," she said.
Though the media warned travelers of potential crowds and transportation hassles, these very obstacles stood out positively in some AU students' minds.
Paige Howarth, a freshman in the School of Communication, said she slept from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. so she could secure a spot near the parade route. She arrived at the Tenleytown-AU Metrorail station in time to witness a line of AU students that curved from the escalator all the way past the shuttle stop.
Pace said he left at 2 a.m. to be one of the first to arrive at the Dupont Circle Metrorail station but still had to let the first three trains of the morning pass because they were completely full.
"It was an all-nighter," he said. "But it was amazing."
You can reach this staff writer at mkendall@theeagleonline.com.
