The historic 2008 election cycle concluded last Tuesday with the inauguration of the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama. While most people watched the ceremony on television or the Internet, an estimated 1.5 million people attended the inauguration, including members of the Wabash community, and some were even able to glimpse the President and Vice-President at balls later that night.
Some students decided at the last minute to try to make the inauguration. Alex Avtgis ’11, his girlfriend Milijana, two of his fraternity brothers, and another friend jumped hopped into his Crown Victoria Monday morning with no tickets. They left Monday morning at 6:00 AM. Eating lunch in Pittsburgh and falling asleep very late in DC, they attended the inauguration the next day, with a view from the Washington Monument, and drove back in time to arrive home that night.
Avtgis thought there would be thousands of people in DC without tickets, who still wanted to be a part of the atmosphere. He was awed by the crowd, unsure about the ceremony itself, and amazed by the inaugural address.
“[The audience was] unruly, crowded, and pushing,” Avtgis said. “Nevertheless, as they did the night before, everyone had this aura about them. This was the realization of many people’s dreams. You can’t expect them to act any other way. I loved the people around me who were singing along and feeling this moment, but at the same time, this was a serious and historic moment. I felt like it was too much of a celebration, and not enough of a serious ceremony, but he really hammered the inauguration points that every president covers in his speech with style and power.”
Ben Ladowski ’09 was in DC from Friday before the Inauguration to the Wednesday after it. He liked the ceremony, but thought Obama’s speech in Chicago on election day was more poetic and stirring.
“I just kind of winged the whole adventure and drove out there,” he said. “The crowd was immense; it was a sea of humanity. I doubt that I will ever see that many people gathered in one spot again. I decided to go because I am only a college student and this is the perfect time to drop everything and see such a momentous occasion. I doubt that in my life I will ever be part of something so grand as the first black president of the United States.”
Alumnus Greg Castanias ’87 didn’t have tickets either, but he, his family, and other alumni, watched the ceremony with 1000 people on the roof of Jones Day, the law firm where Castanias works and a broadcast location for CBS News.
The spectacle was like nothing he had ever seen, and metro trips lasted nearly four times as long as they usual. Even so, Castanias witnessed a swell of good will, despite the cold, the crowds, and slow trains.
“The crowds were insane — nothing like this has ever happened in Washington,” Castanias said. “There were street vendors everywhere selling virtually every piece of Obama and political memorabilia you could imagine; one vendor was even offering to sell an Illinois Senate seat. The ceremony was tremendous. It was by far the most inclusive inauguration ceremony I’ve ever witnessed, live or on TV. Leftwingers, right-wingers, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and nonbelievers were all recognized and honored.”
Castanias liked Obama’s speech. The group he was with had members crying spontaneously. He said the part the resonated the most with him was “when President Obama invoked Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, and implored us that it was time to ‘put away childish things.’”
Castanias, whose family contributed to the campaign and volunteered for Obama in Virginia, was invited to some of the balls around the inauguration festivities. His family went to the Texas ball on the 19th and the Biden Homestates Balls on the 20th, where they saw the President, Vice-President, and their wives. They also went to balls on election night to celebrate the historic election.
“This was an important election for us and for our Nation, and we had shown that by erecting a five foot by seven-foot Obama/Biden sign in our yard, to be seen by all passing cars,” said Castanias, who added the signs were vandalized on the first day they were erected.
“We…wanted to be a part of it all.”