Students to visit Capitol to welcome in Obama

‘ ‘ ‘ Hoards of people will descend upon Washington to witness the inauguration of the first… ‘ ‘ ‘ Hoards of people will descend upon Washington to witness the inauguration of the first black president in U.S. history Tuesday, and Pitt students want to be a part of it. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I was incredibly passionate about [President-elect Barack] Obama and everything he stood for,’ said Pitt student Sarah Posner. ‘ ‘ ‘ Posner, a Pitt student who took last semester off to work as a field organizer on the Obama campaign, will take a road trip to Washington with two other students who worked on the campaign. ‘ ‘ ‘ Former campaign staff received free tickets to watch the inauguration, as well as tickets to a staff ball Wednesday night. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’ll be nice to see everyone again,’ said Posner. ‘ ‘ ‘ The group plans to leave Friday afternoon and come back on Thursday. ‘ ‘ ‘ Although staff got free tickets to the inauguration, they had to find their own housing, Posner said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I can’t concentrate on school or anything,’ said Posner about her excitement to see the inauguration. ‘Most of my professors seem cool about it.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ During the campaign, she said she worked long hours with no sleep. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘All our hard work has paid off and now we just get to celebrate,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Freshman Dan Rosenfeld also plans to attend the inauguration. He will stay with his girlfriend, who attends American University. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Hotels are going to be more than $900,’ he said.’ ‘If I can stay for free, I might as well.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Rosenfeld plans to take the Metro into downtown Washington early Tuesday morning to avoid over-crowding. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I really like the atmosphere that was surrounding the celebration,’ he said. ‘I just want to go for the atmosphere. And obviously, it’s just that it’s a big deal.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt senior Suzie Culhane will drive down to Washington on Friday with a group of fellow Pitt students. ‘ ‘ ‘ Culhane said she wanted to go ‘to experience the whole event, just to be around everyone who’s so excited for Obama to get into office.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ She added, ‘I have the time to do it. I don’t know where I’ll be in four years.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Although her group doesn’t have tickets to view the actual inauguration, they plan on watching the inaugural parade that will take place after Obama is sworn in. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I think there will be mobs of people everywhere, but it will add to the excitement,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Culhane and her friends will stay with three separate people over the course of their visit.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ After two days with their friend’s father, the group will move to a roommate’s friend’s house, then on to a friend of a friend’s house. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’re essentially couch surfing,’ said Culhane. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ian Lauer, president of the College Democrats, said they tried to organize a bus trip for the organization but couldn’t acquire the necessary funds. Instead, the group will watch the event live on Tuesday in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s inside and among friends,’ said Lauer. ‘Ten percent of the population of the country is going to try to cram into the greater Washington area. It’s going to be a traffic nightmare.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ George DeBolt, owner of DeBolt Unlimited, a tour company based in Homestead, said not many college students had signed up for his company’s tour. He said he found this surprising =because of the strong youth following Obama had during his campaign. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’ve had lots of parents who are taking their children,’ he said. ‘It’s going to be a long day, but what a wonderful day it will be.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The tours will leave at 3 a.m. Tuesday and return that evening after the inauguration. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘People want to demonstrate support for Sen. Obama,’ said DeBolt. ‘I can’t think of any inauguration that means more than this one.’