Locals share their story of inauguration day
In a crowd of millions, a handful of San Benito County students
were on hand to witness history Jan. 20 as Barack Obama was
inaugurated as the 44th president.
Members of the San Benito High School Close-up Club, a
civic-minded group on campus, traveled to Washington, D.C., for a
monumental field trip while eighth-grade student Katherine Whorley
attended a youth conference.
Locals share their story of inauguration day
In a crowd of millions, a handful of San Benito County students were on hand to witness history Jan. 20 as Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president.
Members of the San Benito High School Close-up Club, a civic-minded group on campus, traveled to Washington, D.C., for a monumental field trip while eighth-grade student Katherine Whorley attended a youth conference.
One day during lunch this week, two of the high school students gathered in teacher Laurie Vierra’s classroom to reflect on the historical day. Vierra was the sole chaperone on the trip. Danielle Allemand and Janee Maxie looked at the Jan. 21 edition of the San Jose Mercury News. The front cover showed a sea of people between the capital and the Washington Monument. The girls pointed to where they thought they were standing in the crowd.
“Being able to witness history, being one of the million people there,” was Allemand’s favorite part of the trip, which included visits to D.C.-area museums and memorials, as well as the day at the inauguration.
“We all woke up at 4 a.m. and left by 5:15 a.m.,” Allemand said.
The trek by bus took until 8:30 a.m. because of all the traffic, and then the students and teacher had to walk in on foot. They said they walked about 10 miles that day.
“We were closer to the Washington Monument,” Vierra said. “We were right near a Jumbotron so we could see and hear everything perfectly.”
For Maxie, the best part of the day was just after Obama was sworn into office.
“The crowd started waving flags and crying,” she said. “It was a feeling of relief.”
The only thing they found disappointing was the crowd booing when former President George W. Bush arrived at the event.
“There was a lot of booing and I didn’t like it,” Maxie said.
Vierra noted that the SBHS students did not participate in the poor sportsmanship.
“They should have been more happy that [Obama] was inaugurated, and not that Bush was leaving,” Allemand said.
Despite the indiscretion, most of the people in the crowd got along well.
“There was just a joy and openess, the willingness of everyone on that mall no matter ethnicity,” Vierra said. “They were more than respectful. They were open. People were hugging, crying together and dancing. People my age were just so happy. It was amazing.”
Though the inauguration was the highlight of the trip, Allemand said she enjoyed the many museums they visited as well. The students stopped by the Smithsonian, and other museums. Maxie said she enjoyed visits to the memorials, especially the Korean War Memorial.
“You just get more out of it,” she said of why she preferred that memorial to the others. “There are 19 statues reflected and you could see yourself in it.”
While Whorley, a Rancho San Justo student, also had a chance to visit museums and memorials, she said the actual inauguration was the highlight of her trip.
Whorley visited Washington, D.C., as part of the Junior Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference, which included lectures with well-known government officials.
“The actual inauguration was really inspiring,” she said. “There were so many people there. Every time [Obama] would come up on the screens, everyone started cheering. It was so incredible.”
Like the SBHS students, Whorley’s group was far from the capitol building.
“We were behind the Washington Monument, near the World War II memorial,” she said. “They had these screens set up and we could hear really well, actually.”
Whorley admitted the large crowd was overwhelming at times.
“It was a little bit scary,” she said. “You’d turn around and think, ‘Where is everyone else? Where did my group go?’ We stopped a lot and did counts and made sure everyone was there.”
Despite the crowds, Whorley enjoyed herself.
“I was just surprised at the intensity of feelings at the inauguration,” she said. “You could tell everyone was so psyched to be there. I didn’t expect it to be so emotional.”
She described part of their walk through the crowd.
“When we were first walking down the mall, we walked on a bridge,” she said. “Going underneath there was just a stream of people heading in the same direction. Everyone just started chanting Obama’s name over and over and it was really powerful.”
When she returned to Rancho San Justo this week, her teachers and classmates asked her about the trip.
“All my classmates were really interested,” she said.
As part of the conference, Whorley heard Al Gore and Colin Powell speak.
“Gore talked a lot about his views on the environment,” she said. “Powell talked a lot about his experiences in our country’s leadership.”
On the night of the inauguration, Whorley and the other students from the conference attended a semi-formal ball.
“There were 5,000 of us there and it was really fun,” she said. “There was live music. There were some carnival games. There were some people doing caricatures.”
Whorley said she will remember the experience for the rest of her life.
“The inauguration was one of the most exciting and amazing things I’ve ever gone to or done,” she said. “I feel really blessed that I got to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.”
