Bruins attend historic event
By Christopher Mastrangelo
Jan. 20, 2009 9:54 p.m.
Chilling temperatures and the 3,000 mile distance was no deterrent to some UCLA students who wanted to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Some UCLA students were fortunate enough to already be in Washington, D.C., because they were spending a quarter abroad in the nation’s capital.
Others, including Pardis Farhadian, a fourth-year political science student, and Janou Gordon, a second-year political science student, were willing to take a few days off from classes and make the journey across the country for the historic event.
Farhadian, a member of Bruins for Obama, said she was very excited to be able to attend the inauguration ceremony. She said that she was able to get a ticket because she was a member of the National Youth Leadership Forum.
“It was the most memorable thing I’ve ever done even though it was totally freezing,” Farhadian said. When asked about what she thought of President Obama’s speech, she said, “He is such a powerful speaker that if he were to start speaking gibberish I think people would think he was right.”
Gordon, also a member of Bruins for Obama, had campaigned for Obama in Texas and Nevada before the election and said she thought that being able to attend the event was a reward for all the hard work she and many others had done.
“It is awesome to see this many people coming together from all over the country,” Gordon said. She said she sees Barack Obama as “someone to light that fire in people so they can bring about change themselves.”
Some other students were in attendance at the event because they were studying abroad in Washington, D.C., with the UCDC program. One of them, Jonathen Kwok, a third-year political science student, described his experience.
“It was great; it was just so magical you really felt it meant something,” he said.
Kwok said he was only about 200 yards away from the podium where Obama spoke and had applied for his ticket to the inauguration two days after the presidential election. At first he was denied and put on a waiting list, but enough people canceled that he was eventually able to get a ticket.
Despite the cold, crowds and the three and a half hours Kwok said it took to get past security, he said he would do it all again. “Everyone was so friendly; the spirit of the moment brought everyone together.
“When my kids ask me someday, I don’t want to say I was in Washington, D.C., but didn’t go to the inauguration,” Kwok said.
