‘Wow, it's happening right there’

By Nancy Kriz
CENTRAL VALLEY — Still riding high on their musical success at the WorldStrides OnStage Musical Festival this past weekend, Monroe-Woodbury High School students also knew this trip gave them a firsthand opportunity to witness history as they attended President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
They don’t think of themselves as political junkies, because they reinforced the real and only reason for the trip to the District of Columbia was to perform music. Still, they knew there were multitudes of people on the National Mall in support of Trump as much as those who were there to protest his swearing-in.
And, then there were groups like Monroe-Woodbury, who appreciated being there for the opportunity to simply, in-person, watch the peaceful transition of power to a new administration, something not everyone gets a chance to do.
The experience, not the politicsAnd “cool” was a word consistently used by students when talking about their inauguration experience.
Senior Kaylee Sperling, while not having any specific political viewpoints, suspected many in the school group were not Trump fans.
“Personally, I don’t have a specific political opinion but I thought it was really cool I could say I saw an inauguration of a president of the United States,” said Sperling, a member of the Voice Ensemble. “Not a lot of people can say that.”
One of the group’s chaperones wore a watch that clocked their actual roundtrip walking mileage from their bus drop-off location.
“I think they said we walked seven miles total,” Sperling said. “And we were pretty far from the Capitol. There were Jumbotron screens we watched. There was a decent amount of people there and it was crowded. It was an once-in-a-lifetime experience to see something that historical.”
But she stressed afterward, the inauguration “wasn’t a big topic of conversation.”
“Of course, the music was the best part of the trip,” she added. “I thought the inauguration was just a bonus.”
Cool and respectfulJunior Alexis Newman equally felt it was a great opportunity to observe a president taking the Oath of Office.
“It was cool to see everybody united,” Newman said, noting they were eating breakfast at 5 a.m. sharp in order to have time to get where they needed to be. “We didn't see too many protestors. I feel like everybody was respectful. Nobody booed or anything. I felt like the energy of just being there was just amazing. I’ve always been interested to see one, so I was glad to have the opportunity to see it.”
She agreed there was a learning opportunity for everyone as they stood on the National Mall.
“The lesson of this experience is, I would say, even if you don't believe in this president and his policies, it's really good to be a part of your country and the democratic process,” said Newman, a Chamber Orchestra cellist. “I think it's important to be united as a country, in times of need or prosperity. It was important to see the change of the president and the peaceful way it’s done.”
While they were far away from the Capitol steps, Senior Katharine Edel - who performed both with the Wind Ensemble and Voice Ensemble - knew they were much closer than television and social media platform viewers.
“We were watching the Jumbotron and then we would look over to where the Capitol was and say, ‘Wow, it's happening right there,’” she said.
Hearing the musicEver the musicians, the group appreciated the inauguration’s musical components, too.
“When we were walking and hearing the music,” she said, “we’d look to the Capitol and say, ‘There's the block of singers, we could see them, they're right there. That cream color block of people standing there, that's them.”
Despite the weekend White House/media drama over crowd sizing, students felt there was a tremendous amount of people in attendance.
“There was definitely a lot people there, but I didn’t feel crammed in like a sardine,” Edel said. “There was enough space for us to be there and watch comfortably. I just think it was really cool to be a part of history. Most people don't get to see an inauguration and see a peaceful transition of power. That doesn't happen in a lot of countries. To see that and be there was great.”