Suffolk students take part in inauguration seminar

by Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
Suffolk students are learning firsthand about American politics, especially about how the system works when it comes to getting inauguration tickets.
Matthew Chamberlin, a sophomore American policy major at Suffolk University, was able to score tickets to the inauguration by writing his congressman last fall. He didn't know who the winner would be, although he was hoping for Obama. "I was very lucky," said Chamberlin.
"The environment is absolutely incredible," Chamberlin said over the weekend. "Basically, we're seeing people visiting here who never expressed any interest in politics … It's a generally good feeling in the area."
He's one of 90 Suffolk University students and five faculty leaders who traveled to Washington last week for a 12-day presidential inauguration seminar entitled "Media and the Presidency".
"The seminar offers Suffolk students a rare opportunity to experience the historic transition of power from one administration and party to another and the key role the media play in shaping and describing the inaugural process," said Assistant Professor of Government Brian Conley. "The small-group discussions, guest lectures and site visits will give students a hands-on introduction to official Washington, the inauguration and the operations of the fourth estate."
Additional faculty leaders who are leading the daily small-group sessions are professors Teri Fair and Roberto Dominguez, Meri Power and Erin Cheuvront.
The class, offered in conjunction with The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, focuses on the 2008 presidential election, the media's impact on the election process and the transition to a new administration, as part of its requirements for a course offered by the Government Department. They were among many Suffolk students who were able to travel to D.C. to witness history firsthand.
“This city has been energized since we got here on the 10th,” said Conley, one of the faculty leaders for the seminar. “Even then, we could sense people were quite excited, and each day it gets recognizably more intense. Just the scope of it, like at the mall - you look at the infrastructure put in place and it’s just breathtaking.”
Five million are predicted to flood D.C., a crush that will shut down many Metro stations, halt pedestrian travel on many bridges, ban auto traffic throughout the city, and otherwise make travel difficult, said Conley. He wasn't sure over the weekend how he'd try to negotiate the crush, but was discussing it with his students to make sure they'd have the best opportunity to view the historic event. He warned students holding tickets to the inauguration that there was a predicted 10-hour line, which meant standing in line overnight, in freezing temperatures, without benefit of the not-allowed camping gear. Most of the students don't live far, but they're not that close, either, staying in nearby Virginia and Maryland.
Some of the students may pay the $175 to $300 to go to one of the dozens of inaugural balls – that is, if they can gather up some Black Tie or formalwear. One student won a ticket, but was disheartened by a $180 tux rental. A handful of students also secured tickets to the actual inauguration back in the fall, when it wasn’t clear who would be sworn in. But those students are facing a 10-hour wait that would have started overnight, in the freezing cold, just to go through security. “Having a ticket means having to be there at 7 a.m. and an overnight wait,” said Professor Brian Conley, who requested but didn’t get a ticket. “You can’t bring any kind of camping gear. It was 2 degrees recently.”
The sheer logistics also worried the group. “Imagine two-plus million people are showing up at the Boston Common,” said Conley. “Imagine what the subways will look like.”
Most of the students are staying in Bethesda, Md., while the faculty is in Arlington, Va., all within Metro access of D.C. There’s a lot of walking ahead of them today - that is, if they can move at all.
Only Lyndon Johnson received such high attendance figures, and that was about a half-million, said Conley. “In the local news they said this will be the biggest event in the history of Washington DC. They don’t really know how many are coming. The feeling of this is intense. The scale is intense. They plan to close off areas to foot traffic. They’re going to shut down the entire Washington Downtown area – no cars, just police vehicles. I just asked a cab driver what he planned to do, and he said, ‘I have absolutely no idea.’ I plan to concentrate on Lincoln Memorial. Traveling with 90 students is challenging, because the logistics are heightened. There are some coordination issues, but students are highly motivated.”
Chamberlin scored tickets to the inauguration, but he knows he’s facing long lines. "I guess my strategy is to leave my apartment very early, at 5-6 a.m., and be prepared to walk," said Chamberlin, who has a few friends who decided at the last minute to come down, only to face $700 plane and train tickets, one-way, and hotels far from D.C. with jacked-up prices. When the student group first arrived, the excitement was only beginning. "I went out [Saturday]. There are police everywhere, streets are blocked off, it's already hard to move around. People are generally happy. It's been truly incredible this weekend talking to Republicans who believe in Obama and finding common ground with Obama."
Chamberlin voted for Obama, and is a self-described "political junkie" who has been following politics since sixth grade. "I watched both Bush inaugurations," he said, so he’s intent on witnessing history.
"It's definitely gone through my head about being a little concerned with these large crowds, but 50 years from now I can tell my kids I was at the Obama inauguration," said Chamberlin. "It's the opportunity of a lifetime. It's incredible."
That’s the sort of feeling also represented in the Suffolk group – Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal. Everyone has Obama fever.
“We have a whole range of political philosophy in our group, with both parties well represented,” said Conley. “I know a number of the college Republicans who have come who are excited. They aren’t debating his policies at all at this point. They are learning the complex issues and the nuances of the process.”
Together, his students are noticing bipartisan support and the politicians’ willingness to work on the economic crisis together.
"It's crazy out here -- no matter where you go there are hundreds of street vendors selling everything from pens to T-shirts and hats," said Suffolk junior Rachel Sledge, a philosophy major on an "ethics and public policy" track who is also attending the trip. She didn't vote for Obama, so she's not exactly buying Obama pens or bobble heads, but she is excited about everything she's learning in such a short period of time, including listening to congressional leaders tell firsthand what it's like to work in politics. "My academic pursuits are in hope of ending up in Washington," said Sledge. "I want to hear some of the solutions we have to look forward to, in order to regain the title we lost -- as the greatest nation in the world."
Like many of the Republicans she has encountered on her trip, she intends to be "respectful and supportive of my soon-to-be president,” she said. “I think everyone is extremely excited. I am definitively supportive of his hope to bring us back together and close the partisan gap facing Washington and the nation for the past four-six years."
For everyone, it’s the first inauguration they’ve attended in Washington, but Suffolk has been sending classes to D.C., including during inaugurations, since 1984, and has been working with the Washington Center since 1978.
For this seminar, sessions with the students have been broadcast nationally on C-Span last week. Suffolk and other students asked questions of NPR news analyst Juan Williams, Fox News anchor Brett Baier and others who took part in a session at the University of the District of Columbia that addressed President-Elect Barack Obama's presidential transition. On Wednesday, C-Span broadcast a discussion of the Bush presidency and the media, which featured Suffolk students asking questions.
"That was a real thrill," said Chamberlin.
In the past few days, students have also heard from leading government, political and media figures, such as Ambassador Hussain Haqqani of Pakistan and Sam Donaldson of ABC News. Daily small discussion groups with Suffolk University faculty complement site visits to federal agencies, think tanks, and embassies and attendance at a variety of inaugural events. Sledge and Chamberlin were especially impressed by their visit to the Israeli embassy, where they talked with the ambassador. "While we were waiting outside, there were protesters against what Israel is doing in Gaza," said Sledge. "They were very peaceful, and there was a police presence."