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Part of History
EHS STUDENTS AND FACULTY ATTEND THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
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the parade was cancelled; and, in 2005, there was heightened security due to ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This year was on the cold and windy side, but some 550 community members and guests boarded buses and school vans, drove to the Pentagon, and walked the 1.5 miles to the National Mall.”
n Jan. 20, the students and faculty of EHS continued a 40-year School tradition of traveling to Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day to witness the swearing-in of the new president. After riding buses to a drop-off point, students walked in small groups with faculty advisors a mile and a half into the city. The route took them through the Pentagon parking lot, past Arlington National Cemetery, over Memorial Bridge, around the Lincoln Memorial, and into the crowd of 1.5 million people assembled for President Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony.
Spanish Teacher Viviana Davila’s advisory dressed patriotically for Inauguration Day. From left: Davila, Maria Hewko ’11, Reddin Woltz ’10, Hunter deButts ’10, Danielle Molina ’10, and Liz Ward ’09.
“I’d never seen such a large number of people so excited about one thing,” said Hunter deButts ’10. “I’m glad I made the physical sacrifice of being out in the cold for a few hours just to be there. Even though we were at least a mile away and had no chance of seeing [Obama] in person, just being out there with everyone else is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
In planning for the event, the School determined that the anticipated size of the crowd this year precluded attending the parade, and all groups returned to campus after President Obama’s inaugural speech.
Temperatures in Washington, D.C., were a frosty 19 degrees the morning of Inauguration Day, climbing to 28 degrees by noon with wind gusts of up to 23 mph. Before students boarded buses, faculty confirmed they had hats, gloves, warm jackets, and sturdy footwear. Associate Dean of Students Stacie Williams was on hand with a bag of extra gear to loan to students who reported to buses without hats or gloves. “We always go,” said Peter Goodnow, director of academic tours. “In 1973, there were protests about Watergate and Vietnam; in 1985, it was so cold
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“The walk got our blood moving, at least, and helped us to keep warm in the frigid temperatures until we stopped moving at our final destination in front of one of the many Jumbotrons,” said Reddin Woltz ’10. “The cold set in as soon as we stopped, but it was a small price to pay for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The day required multiple layers, hats, gloves, and even hand warmers, but this historic inauguration was an event that we all refused to miss.”
Students and faculty walked across Memorial Bridge (above) into Washington, D.C., to watch the inauguration on Jumbotrons set up on the National Mall.
“Although we weren’t even close to the Capitol, the students and faculty sensed that they were part of an historic event – the inauguration of our first African-American president – and it was hard not to get caught up in the festive atmosphere of the day,” said Goodnow. “Even those community members who didn’t support President Obama in the election saw that they were there to help celebrate an essential strength of American democracy dating back to 1801 – the peaceful transition of the presidency from one political party to another.” n