Crowds battle weather, lines at Capitol

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thousands of people packed the National Mall on Monday to watch President Barack Obama take his second oath of office.

Obama’s speech hinted at broad plans and big hopes for the future and drew cheers from supporters. Musical artists James Taylor, Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Clarkson performed, and Poet Laureate Richard Blanco read for the crowd. But for those gathered at the foot of the Capitol Building and beyond, experiencing the 57th Inauguration live meant hours in the cold and slow-moving lines.

George Washington University freshman Zac Ruckert took his place on the Mall around 5 a.m. His friend Ernie Britt, a Duke University freshman, set out for Washington at 2 a.m. to arrive at the Mall just before 10 a.m.  

“It’s Barack Obama’s second inauguration, and it’s on MLK Day, so no classes — it was just perfect, I think,” Britt said.

The two jostled for American flags as they waited for proceedings to start. Ruckert said he’d taken a different route to get here, because three Metro stations were closed in advance of the ceremony, and Pennsylvania Avenue was blocked off in advance of the Inaugural Parade.

“It’s been kind of crowded here the last couple days,” Ruckert said. “It’s sort of annoying, but it’s great today.”

The Secret Service estimated between 500,000 and 700,000 people flooded the city for the Inauguration. On the Mall, crowds watched giant screens, kept warm with food from concession stands and, occasionally, tried to push their way toward a better viewing area.

Junior Lena Morris drove with a group of four other IU students for a weekend of sightseeing and to watch the Inauguration from the Mall. Morris said they weren’t able to get as close as they would have liked but thought it was still worth the trip.

“It felt great to be there anyway,” Morris said.

It took Morris and her friends about two hours to travel from Northern Virginia, where they stayed for the weekend, into the city on Inauguration Day. She estimated they spent about 30 minutes just exiting the Metro station.

“I expected it to be very crowded,” IU sophomore Nathan Benham said. “And I’m very impatient, so it kind of was bothering me how slow crowds were going and what not.”

The group lingered after the ceremony was finished to check out the large CNN Booth in the middle of the Mall. Benham said despite the chaos of the entrance and exit, the trip was well worth it.

“It’s not something I’ve ever experienced before,” Benham said. “These things don’t really come around as often as some other events.”