Carson High students witness swearing in of Obama

By Teri Vance

Nevada Appeal Staff Writer

Washington " Inauguration day was marked by the cold, crowds, congestion and celebration Tuesday as Carson High School students joined an estimated million spectators on the National Mall to witness the swearing in of Barack Obama.

History and government teacher Angila Golik, who organized the trip, said there were challenges, like trying to navigate her group through thousands of people.

"The lows were definitely the temperatures," she said. "It was freezing all day. And none of us had experienced that amount of people in one place."

But, she said, everyone was pleasant and the rewards were worth the challenges.

"It was so surreal standing there where you could see the Capitol," she said. "Then when you go back and watch TV and see everything that happened, I can tell my students and my own children that I was there."

As a teacher, she said, she was interested in being a part of a historic moment. As a mom, though, she wanted to see what Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia wore to the event.

"Oh, they're so cute," she exclaimed as the girls walked out onto the stage.

The 14 students and their chaperones boarded a bus at their Maryland hotel at 5 a.m. By 6 a.m., they had arrived in Washington, D.C., and were navigating toward the entrance of their designated gate.

After walking for a little more than an hour, they joined a throng of thousands waiting for the gate to open at 8 a.m.

"Seeing all these people and knowing I'm one of them making history is what really stands out for me," said Lisa Shores, 18.

There were moments of confusion, and once the crowd was directed to reassemble itself about five blocks away. However, unlike some ticket holders, all of the Carson City group was admitted.

In the three hours left to wait before the ceremony began, chaperone Teri Zutter passed the time meeting new people and finding out where they were from. She met people from as far away as Madagascar and Cameroon to New York, Alaska, Minnesota and Alabama.

"Obama represents all Americans," she said. "He's a Hawaiian, an Illinoisan, an immigrant."

To keep warm, students huddled for warmth and theorized about body parts that could be lost to the cold.

Most agreed their toes were in the most danger.

But the frozen toes were forgotten when Obama took the oath of office.

"It was amazing," said Josiah Toral, 16. "Just to see history unfolding, the first black president, it was definitely worth the cold, worth the long couple-hours wait in line. It was worth everything."

- Contact reporter Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1272.