This post was written by Hatchet reporter Lauren Hoenmeyer.
Some students brought picnic blankets and a book. Others were equipped with iced Starbucks drinks and sunglasses to beat the morning heat. But everyone was after the same thing: one of the 500 free tickets available to attend a round table discussion featuring five former secretaries of state.
The line, which included hundreds of students and faculty, started at 5:30 a.m. by those eager to see Madeleine Albright, James Baker III, Warren Christopher, Henry Kissinger, and Colin Powell discuss the upcoming presidential election at Lisner Auditorium in two weeks. The event occurs on Monday, September 15 at 3 p.m.
Sophomore Justin Halpern was one of the first few students to camp out in front of Lisner, arriving at 7 a.m. with a hammock chair, a laptop and a 32 oz. cup of coffee. Halpern said he was more than willing to wait the four hours before the tickets went on sale at 11 a.m.
“Last year, so many cool events happened at GW but I took them for granted and never went,” Halpern said. “When I came here this morning, I wanted to get off on the right start for the year by showing up early.”
Adam Weiner, sophomore, was in line for about an hour and a half before he received his tickets.
“I tried reading to stay entertained but it was too hot,” Weiner said. “This was definitely worth waiting in line so long because events like this are the reason why I came to GW for college.”
Freshman Dave Perry agreed, “I saw the names of the people who are speaking at the forum and I knew that if I wasn’t there, I’d be very disappointed.”
When the announcement was made that tickets were no longer available, hundreds of students were still left in line. However, a standby line will be available on the day of the event for those who still want tickets.