This post was written by Hatchet staff writers Brianna Gurciullo and Julie Alderman.
Students joined the hundreds of thousands of people on the National Mall Monday, waiting hours until President Barack Obama took the oath of office and stressed the need for national equality in his second inaugural address.
Standing before the mass of flag-wavers in front of the U.S. Capitol building, Obama ushered in his second term with a call for unity to overcome the country’s tallest challenges.
Spectators clogged the Metro and swarmed viewing areas, though the rush was lighter compared to four years ago when the country swore in its first black president.
The crowd was vast and – like in 2009 – it formed early. Thousands this year began their trek even before Metro opened stations at 4 a.m, braving the 30-degree chill and marching the three miles to the viewing grounds.
For the next three hours, crowds shuffled through chaotic lines and squeezed past security, sharing stories with others waiting with them. Some donned fur coats or wrapped themselves in American flags like blankets, carrying hot drinks and sandwiches to survive the bitter morning.
To pass time until Obama’s oath, some spectators napped on whatever ground they could find between other on-lookers or played cards with friends.
For some, the day was less calm.
One protester, carrying signs and yelling, “Obama is the anti-Christ” and “Democrats are baby-killers,” climbed a tree near the ticketed standing area. Police officers used ladders to try to bring him down, but he shimmied to the top of the tree.
Members of the crowd called to the man to stop, chanting “shake the tree,” but he continued during prayers and the oath of office.
On-lookers near the Washington Monument missed out on most of the ceremony because of technical glitches with the area’s only Jumbotron. Starting around 10:30 a.m., images on the giant screen were pixelated and lagged several seconds as the speakers blared garbled audio. Dozens streamed off the Mall and went on a search for restaurants or bars screening the ceremonies.
Along other parts of the packed Mall, some spectators brought their own stools to snag a better view. Parents lifted their toddlers on their shoulders, many waving flags or holding signs.
And while Harvard University international student Mai Nguyen of Vietnam was not among the millions who cast their vote for Obama, she was ecstatic to help celebrate his win.
“It really enhances the sense of citizenship,” Nguyen said.
She was decked out in buttons displaying Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s faces, plastered with the saying “I was there”
For on-lookers like Terry Jones of Chicago, Ill., who had witnessed Obama’s historic presidential oath four years ago, Monday’s ceremonies still felt special.
“I think we are a country moving towards more inclusiveness,” Jones said, standing beside a father and son from Portland, Ore. he had met while standing in line.
– Sarah Ferris contributed to this report
