Eyewitnesses to history: Students attend inauguration

In the two ensuing years, Hayes devoted as much of her time as possible to Obama’s presidential bid, even taking a full semester off from college to serve as a field organizer for his campaign.

So it was fitting that Hayes was in Washington, D.C., last Tuesday to see all that work – and the work of so many others – come to fruition. Other Monmouth students who witnessed the inauguration were seniors Anne Stone of Princeton and Joe Trotter of Macomb, who accompanied Trotter’s father, the chair of the Democratic Party in nearby McDonough County.

"It was impressive to see how passionate people were about him," Hayes said. "Everyone had traveled from around the nation to see a 10-minute ceremony. What I also remember thinking was all the little work I had done (for his campaign) in a small community. As I looked around, each person was representing a different little community. I did not realize how many little communities it took to make the campaign successful. It’s all so inspiring. It makes me want to do more."

Not that Hayes hasn’t done a lot already. She had a six-month internship for Obama’s campaign in 2007, then introduced him when he appeared in her hometown of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in December of that year. Days later, she was a precinct leader for the Iowa caucuses, and she and her mother, MC assistant professor Monie Hayes, were voted to be county and regional delegates. A six-week academic trip to Ireland meant she couldn’t become a delegate for the national convention, but she didn’t let school get in the way of her next campaign opportunity.

"My field organizer offered me an opportunity to work for the campaign full-time," Hayes said. "I told him that because of school, I really can’t do it. He said, ‘I’m not letting you pass this up."

She asked for time to think about it and was given "two hours." A family meeting convened around the dining room table, and she ultimately took the advice of her younger sister, who told her to "go for it."

Hayes worked in the Iowa counties of Tama, Grundy and Black Hawk from Aug. 1 to Nov. 6. Although she took nothing for granted and recalls working the phones until 9 p.m. on election night "to get the last vote in," she said she began to have a good feeling about the outcome a few weeks earlier "when the campaign started getting negative on the Republican side. I thought, they must be getting nervous if they’ve decided they can’t win on their own message."

With Obama elected, Hayes could rest, but she still had some work ahead of her as the inauguration neared. She had planned to travel from Boston with a group that included her best friend from high school, his roommate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her roommate from Ireland. When Hayes’ best friend fell sick at the last minute and mistakenly kept the lone outside car key, she was left as the only driver of a car that wouldn’t lock. Her group was able to park the car at "my best friend’s girlfriend’s sorority sister’s parents’ house" in Alexandria, Va., but not until after she had driven into D.C. to pick up two inauguration tickets that had failed to reach her in the mail. She wound up getting those tickets plus a bonus of two more, which she gave to the sorority sister’s parents as a thank-you gift.

Hayes’ work was still not complete. She called the scene on inauguration day "a madhouse. We waited in a two-mile long line for three hours. Then the line kind of disintegrated. Only one of the two gates we were supposed to enter through was opened. People were shaking the fence. We finally squeezed through at 11:55, and they were closing the gate at noon."

Hayes said there were about 200,000 people in her viewing section, which was about 200 yards away from the stage.

Although they never ran into Hayes, Stone and Trotter had a very similar experience. They, too, had not received their full allotment of tickets. All it took to correct the problem was a six-hour wait at the Cannon Building, site of state representative Phil Hare’s office. They reported the line to get inside had wrapped around the building twice.

They were also caught up in the crowd on inauguration day, as it took them 90 minutes to get outside their station after they left their Metro train. Trotter said that chants of "Yes we can!" turned into "Yes we did!" as the railcars sped along toward the nation’s capital. He also reported the crowd also broke into the "Na na na na … goodbye!" chant when former President Bush’s helicopter took off.

Asked about their thoughts as the inauguration unfolded, Stone said, "I remember feeling like it was my country. Decisions I make can have an effect. I’m part of the solution to the problem. In the past, the president had seemed so intangible. Obama makes it seem like he’s on our level."

"It restored my faith in politics," said Trotter. "I’m a Democrat, and I was a big fan of Bill Clinton. With Obama, I see a strong foundation of levelheadedness and sensibility. We’ve turned a corner, and it’s the right corner … There was an instant change in the people. It was all so uplifting. People were dancing and crying."

A news editor for the college student newspaper, Stone admitted in a firsthand account she wrote that she was one of those in tears: "As he took his oath, tears streamed down my face."

Asked about the emotion, she said much of it stemmed from Obama being the first African-American president and how the day powerfully closed the gap in the nation’s race relations. The day also marked, for her, a turn toward a more honest and straightforward approach to politics.

She also wrote, "As (Obama’s) speech came to a close, families hugged, couples kissed and tears filled the eyes of many. I’ve never felt such a powerful moment. … I was feeling a little dim about graduating from college and entering the so-called ‘real world’ with the economy being as it is. And while I’m not so naïve to think that President Obama will change the world overnight, I do think that American morale has already improved."

Added Trotter, "It was, by far, the best political experience I’ve had. I can’t even put it into words."

Given some time to reflect, Trotter added, "Obama will have to conquer real trials and tests in defining years to come without parades and days of jubilation. (But) I am overly optimistic that he will fulfill his words, increase America’s morale and restore faith and character in Washington for presidents to come."

Following the inauguration, Stone and Trotter headed back to Falls Church, Va., but Hayes still had some partying to do. Through her campaign work, she had tickets for the Youth Inaugural Ball, which was hosted by the Washington Hilton. She and her friends watched on a big screen from another part of the hotel as Obama made his appearance there following performances by Kid Rock, Kanye West and Fall Out Boy.

Hayes mentioned wanting to do more, and that might include running for a small office in her home county. She’s also considering law school after she graduates from Monmouth in 2010. Through the entire election process, Hayes was able to network extensively, so that might lead to some opportunities, too. Her Mount Pleasant neighbor, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, is Obama’s Secretary of Agriculture, and her state campaign director, Jackie Norris, is Michelle Obama’s chief of staff.