Inaug dorms
By Alexandra Gordon
WASHINGTON, D.C. - To some, a night in an American University dorm room might be dreadful, but for 15 Ohio University students, it gave them a once-in-a-lifetime chance—attending the inauguration of Barack Obama as president.
American University College Democrats and AU students who volunteered to serve as hosts, made the dream of the College Democrats of Ohio turn into a reality.
Meghan Bender, secretary of College Democrats of Ohio University, had the responsibility of finding a place for herself and her fellow College Democrats to stay for the inauguration. Beginning her effort in October 2007, she quickly discovered that all hotels within a 22-mile radius of Washington, D.C., were booked. Fellow members told Bender to give up, but she refused.
“A huge weight was put on my shoulders,” said Bender. “We needed to know people.”
Through meticulous Facebook “creeping” --the random searching of profiles on the popular networking sight-- Bender was able to get to know the right people; American University College Democrats. Bender e-mailed Emma Noftz, the AU College Democrat’s Vice President. Once Bender started e-mailing with Emma, plans moved quickly, according to Bender. She remained in contact with Noftz throughout the time leading up to the inauguration.
Noftz was in charge of finding hosts for the OU students and said she was “amazed by how willing AU students were to host the OU Democrats.”
“It was a great experience seeing students our age from an area besides D.C. being so involved in politics and the inauguration,” said Clare Walsh, an AU sophomore who hosted a student in her dorm room.
Once Bender solidified the plans to attend the inauguration, OU’s College Democrats let their members know of the opportunity.
“We received dozens and dozens and dozens of e-mails from interested students,” Bender said.
After choosing the most active members, the group was set at 15.
Jordan Siler, a freshman at OU was one of them. After receiving the e-mail notifying her of the opportunity, she thought “heck ya,” and hopped on board, she said.
“I thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Siler.
“I’m glad I made the cut,” said Rose Ashe, an active junior of OU’s College Democrats. Ashe said she admired Obama’s “eloquent speech and mannerisms.”
Of the 15 members who traveled to AU, only six overcame their exhaustion and braved the 20-degree weather to actually view the inauguration from the Washington Mall. According to Bender, by 7:30 a.m., some members of their group started to leave the Mall to go back to the AU campus. The six members who weathered the entire event faced never ending lines for food and warming stations. One member of the group even started convulsing, according to Bender. At this point, Bender said she was “envious of the people who bailed.”
After the inauguration was over, Bender and the rest of the group walked 12 miles around Washington, D.C.
“We just wandered for four and a half hours,” said Bender.
Bender was responsible for driving some of the OU students back to Ohio the night of the inauguration. She said she was so tired she started hallucinating and thought the “red headlights in front of her were falling ashes.” Her group made it back to Ohio at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday. In an attempt to wake herself up the next day, Bender said she went to the gym, only to end up falling asleep on the equipment.
Despite the hardships, Bender said she had an incredible experience.
“I am looking forward to visiting American University and some new friends again in the spring,” said Bender.
Bo Hammond, president of the AU College Democrats, said he plans to work with OU students in the future.
“Hopefully we’ll keep those ties,” he said.
The experience was also fun for the AU hosts, according to Shannon Curry, a sophomore host at AU.
“We would definitely do it again,” said Curry.