President Obama

First African-American President pledges renewal of American ideals

District residents mesh with GW Students, Downtown Washington in unprecedented cultural shift

 

[caption id="attachment_908" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A view of the U.S. Capitol from the first general admission area. Photo Credit: Jesse Regis"][/caption]

 

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

Twenty months after declaring his candidacy former community organizer, state legislator and Illinois Senator, Barack Obama took the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol becoming the 44th President of the United States in an event that is among the largest ever in the nation’s capital.

Shortly after noon President Obama joined Vice-President Elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in taking the oath of office promising to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” In an Inaugural Address that pledged an Era of Responsibility, President Obama rejected any distinction between national security and American ideals. In a perceived rejection of the policies of the Bush Administration the newly elected President said “Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.”

Pledging to work alongside poor nations, and those with whom the United States has previously disagreed, Mr. Obama offered friendship to all nations. The President, in a speech that would directly address civil rights, segregation, the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian world’s said, “We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

It was perhaps the largest audience the leader of the free world has ever addressed in person. Estimates range from 1.8 – 2.2 million people packing the length of the National Mall from the Capitol steps to the Lincoln Memorial. Officials say the crowd made Washington, D.C. the 5th largest city in the country on Tuesday. Among the most notable observations of the day was the diversity that filled the Mall as residents from all the District's neighborhoods from Foggy Bottom to Anacostia and Dupont to Columbia Heights came together to witness the event. This highlights a pledge by the President to venture into "unofficial" Washington, a shift from former President George W. Bush who rarely left the Downtown area except to leave the District.

Residents, tourists, and students began arriving on the Mall in the wee hours of the morning. Toting Red Bull and sleeping bags, bleary eyed GW students were among the first arrivals for both the ticketed areas and the general admission areas. Those who received one of 240,000 tickets distributed by members of Congress were assigned to seating areas designed by colors. Tickets with orange borders would be seated in one area, blue, yellow, and silver would each have their separate section.

The situation has caused so much controversy that California Senator Diane Feinstein, chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has apologized in an open statement.

As many would find having a ticket did not necessarily mean admission. A combination of unprecedented security and maximum capacity crowds shut down some areas even to ticket holders. Those with purple tickets were especially impacted with lines reportedly blocks long and extending into the 3rd Street tunnel without the presence of law enforcement or protection from the bitter cold temperatures. Many were not on the grounds for the ceremony despite traveling to Washington with a ticket.

The situation has caused so much controversy that California Senator Diane Feinstein, chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has apologized in an open statement. A Congressional investigation will also take place with the committee seeking public feedback. Among other problems was the lack of adequate exit signage, knowledgeable law enforcement and volunteer personnel, and the placement of fences and barricades, which by many accounts trapped attendees in a labyrinth of metal and concrete.

Sub zero temperatures made it difficult for many, including the 350,000 people who assembled in the pre-dawn hours to view the Inaugural parade, which began an hour late due to delays resulting from the hospitalization of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and subsequent illness of the 91 year-old Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia that took place during the luncheon following the Inaugural ceremony.

                                                                                                     - Jesse Regis

Sounds of Inauguration

Click below to check out sounds from Barack Obama's introduction to the crowds gathered on the National Mall for the yesterday's Inaugural ceremonies.

Obama's Introduction - Inauguration 2009

Review: West Side Story

In the midst of inaugural festivities, West Side Story concluded its 5 week run at the National Theater over the weekend. During the run, nearly every performance was sold out.

West Side Story originally debuted in 1957 where it's violent scenes and social commentary atypical to musicals of the time shocked audiences. Despite the early controversy, West Side Story has risen to become a cornerstone of musical theater and a milestone in American culture. Director Arthur Laurents sought to display grittier and more authentic characters in the most recent portrayal of the show, which coincides with the production’s 50^th anniversary as well as composer Leonard Bernstein’s 90^th birthday. The largest departure from the original musical was the introduction of Spanish to several songs and pieces of dialogue by the Puerto Ricans.

Josefina Scaglione, originally from Argentina, displayed her operatic training as Maria, although Karen Olivo’s depiction of Anita nearly stole the show. GW professor David Sciannella provided an undeniably virtuosic performance on the lead trombone part along with the theater’s world class pit orchestra. The dance choreography was noticeably more physical than earlier renditions, complimented by more subtle additions such as various exchanges of obscene gestures between the Sharks and Jets. The most graphic scenes, most notably when Anita is nearly raped by a collection of Jets, elicited a tangible feeling of shock and fear from the audience. Masterful stagecraft, seamless transitions, and intense contrasts in color and brightness through light effects truly brought the show to life.

Having departed Washington, West Side Story will return to Broadway on February 9th.

-Joe Lewis

United, We Serve

On Monday, the crowds that had gathered the day before to witness the Inaugural kickoff concert at the Lincoln Memorial dispersed throughout the district as part of the second day of Inaugural festivities, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service.

All over the city, individuals and groups partook in various community service projects. For the GW College Democrats, that meant heading off to Shaw Junior High School to work with the Jewish Community Center (JCC) on several service projects. With the help of many other volunteers as well as the CDs, the Jewish Community Center sorted thousands of books for the public school’s library and prepared healthy snack packages for the kids, which included Cheerios and raisins.

Another project spear-headed by the JCC which was undertaken by members of the CDs, including Community Service Director Bekah Medley, was the decorating of a bench made to symbolize human rights, using photos of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a friend of King’s who also adamantly believed in the importance of human rights.

This was not the only community service event that took place in DC. Thousands of volunteers gathered at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to join Operation Gratitude in assembling care packages for our men and women overseas.

Even the President- and Vice President-Elect got in on the action: Barack Obama helped paint at a local shelter, and Joe Biden helped to build a house. Obama noted, while rolling blue paint onto the walls, that over 5,000 community service groups engaged in some service activity that day.

-Alex Laska

Lines, Lines, Lines

[caption id="attachment_881" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Lines wrapped around Cannon Office Building this afternoon"][/caption]

If you were one of the lucky ones to get inauguration tickets, hopefully you didn't have to go pick them up today. Due to few entrances to staff office buildings and limited Capitol Hill police to guide many misguided visitors, the Hill was complete chaos. Lines at Cannon Office Building, the Hill's largest, wrapped completely around the block, with wait times reaching nearly four hours. But after the long wait, 240,000 tickets were handed out for tomorrow's swearing-in ceremony.

If you didn't get a ticket, there will be room on the National Mall where you can see the ceremony on a jumbotron or you could wait along the parade route to catch a glimpse of the new President and GW's own inaugural float. However, if today's ticket lines are any indication of how tomorrow may go, it will be important to get there early and know exactly where you are going. Make sure to check out the map before you head out!

-Mallory Thompson

Inaugural Float Pep Rally

[caption id="attachment_898" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The GW community was able to view the float  Monday night."][/caption]

Monday night a crowd gathered at Kogan Plaza to send off the George Washington University’s inaugural float. The float will be featured in tomorrow’s parade celebrating Barack Obama’s inauguration.

The float had symbols representing each college; the Elliot School’s globe stood above the float. Pulling the float was a trolley. A sign told viewers that the float is even “carbon neutral”. Students have spent the last couple of weeks slaving over the float to make sure it was perfect and at the rally final touches were still being added on.

Not only were GW students admiring the float, but were able to enjoy many different forms of entertainment. The night featured the Colonial Brass, GW Cheer Team, and the Sons of Pitch. Spectators took advantage of the complimentary hot chocolate. Lines were consistently long at the Starbucks booth.

President Steven Knapp and GW Inaugural Float Project participants attended the event.  Marisa Mammone, freshmen at GW, believed the event was a success. “I was shocked at how well the float turned out”.

Selected GW students will ride the float in tomorrow’s Inaugural parade. This is only the second time GW will participate in an Inaugural Parade. The last time was in 1949 for President Harry Truman’s inauguration.

-Roxanne Martin

Security for the Inauguration

Fifty-one weeks out of the year people walk by the White House and try to spot the snipers lying in wait on the roof, imagining the Secret Service listening to their every word. But those security measures pale in comparison to those being taken this week for the 2009 Inauguration celebrations – and the security permeating the whole city is much more visible as well. Foggy Bottom itself is a hotbed of military activity. Walking down the street, you are likely to encounter men and women in fatigues and at least one police vehicle on each block. Road closings have been prevalent as well - residents of Thurston Hall have been able to attest to this with the presence of army trucks stationed at 19^th and F and 18^th and F Streets. Trucks carrying road blockades have been seen within a five to ten block radius of the White House. For most commuters, it will make little sense to be traveling by car within the city. Even ways in and out of the city have been closed off. But the changes to travel routes in DC haven’t ended on the streets – the Metro has modified some stations as exit- or entry-only. A complete list can be found at http://MetroOpensDoors.com.

For GW students, the security has obviously been a hassle. Christophe Hollocou says that the security for the GW campus itself hasn’t been too bad. He noted that Thurston Hall itself it usually more intense about security than other residence halls because residents have to swipe in on every other day of the school year. He said, “The security in the city is a real pain, but it’s only a couple of days. It’s worth it for something so monumental that we’re going to remember forever.”

- Jenn Neuner

Les Miserables in Arlington

[caption id="attachment_868" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Photo courtesy of Signature Theater and Playbill.com"][/caption]

While thousands of people flocked to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the “We Are One” Inaugural kickoff concert, a decidedly smaller gathering was treated to a fresh new look at one of the world’s most famous musicals.

Les Miserables, presented by the Signature Theater in Arlington, Virginia, is a show most Broadway enthusiasts will recognize as the longest-running musical in history and, as such, has had countless different incarnations. What makes this production in particular so special is the way it is presented to the audience: in a small, blackbox theater that only seats roughly two hundred seventy five guests per performance, and on a stage that is viewable from three sides.

Signature Theater’s ability to juxtapose such a large-scale show – equipped with thirty cast members, an eighteen-piece orchestra, and several large set pieces – with such a small and intimate venue is a triumph for director Eric Schaeffer, who is also artistic director and co-founder of Signature Theater. As the cast is given three directions to play to, each member of the audience is given a unique experience where there isn’t a single bad seat in the house and everyone feels like they are part of the revolution.

Schaeffer has given the production a gothic feel, which naturally goes well with the dark tones of the piece. With lighting used to cast shadows over the stage, dark costumes, and strikingly pale makeup, the production looks like something out of the mind of Tim Burton.

The show, however, is not all style and no substance: the cast members are terrific, and both the singing and acting was spot-on throughout the show. Particular stand-outs include Enjolras, played by Chris Sizemore, Eponine, played by Felicia Curry, and the Thenardiers, played by Christopher Bloch and Sherri L. Edelen. Importantly, they do not merely regurgitate what has already been done again and again in preceding productions of the same show: rather, they took the roles and made them their own, experimenting with different emotions and creating three-dimensional characters, providing for a realistic theatrical experience.

As Les Miserables is such an arduous show to produce, it rarely comes in such good form. The Signature Theater has outdone itself with this production, and it is certainly a show worth seeing to all those in the DC area.

Les Miserables at the Signature Theater will run until February twenty-second. Ticket prices start at sixty five dollars and can still be purchased at Ticketmaster.

-Alex Laska

WRGW Covers Inauguration 2009

From the welcoming concert to the swearing-in ceremony and the parade to Inaugural balls across the city, WRGW will be bringing you tons of information in the coming days about Inauguration 2009. Check back for updates starting tonight!

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