Post-Inauguration Interview---WILLIAM HOSTON

Final Thoughts on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration...---WILLIAM HOSTON

In sum, the travel to Washington, D.C. to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration was a great experience. It was the trip of a lifetime, one that I will be able to tell my children and grandchildren about. The unity, cohesion, and assembly of people gathered at this event exhibited progress for our country as we witnessed the inauguration of the first black president, Barack Obama.

On another note, the fight and struggle for economic, social, and political equality is not over. This event does NOT give African-Americans (and whites) the liberty to say the dream of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King has been fulfilled. Dr. King's dream was much greater than that. Remember the dream speech was not about a dream at all, but about the economic plight for African-Americans. The "dream" portion was a eloquent closing.

This event does NOT give African-Americans the liberty to say that the Civil Rights Movement is over. The Civil Rights Movement was much greater than that. Remember the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was an important part of the Civil Rights Movement and African-American children are still disproportionately failing in the education system.

I am a tremendous supporter of Barack Obama. However, his "hope" and "change" rhetoric does not speak to me. I want to see action (and I will give him the latitude for that at least 2 years but it will take 8). Obama supporters can be critical and/or provide criticism of him. We owe him that much. See, criticism does not always have to be negative, but rather, it can be positive and constructive.

On January 20, 2009, I cried tears of joy like the rest of the world. My tears were not only for me but also for my grandparents, parents, god-parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, and my beloved friends, 504, 404, and 229. I made sure that I went because someone had to represent for the group. To these people, "I love you."

Presidential Inauguration: Part 5 ---WILLIAM HOSTON

THE WSU COLLEGE DEMS ON INAUGURATION DAY ---WILLIAM HOSTON

BY WILLIAM T. HOSTON

I will be attending the presidential inauguration today, witnessing Barack Obama be sworn in as the first African-American president of the United States of America.

This is an incredible achievement considering the plight of African-Americans. The historical discrimination, injustice and inequality that African-Americans have endured will be temporarily vindicated (but not permanently, because these conditions are still prevalent).

I will be at this event with the Wichita State University College Democrats, a group I serve as faculty adviser. This will be an awesome experience for these students to be a part of history. Ironically, all the students are Caucasian.

I had initial reservations, because I did not think that Caucasian students ages 20-24 would be able to grasp the importance of the moment (despite the fact that they voted for Obama). The WSU College Democrats do have African-American members, however, they were not active in the fall semester.

But the students who are attending the inauguration have shown a tremendous loyalty to the group and the greater Wichita community by organizing several voter-registration drives, working on countless campaigns, hosting a bipartisan candidate forum, holding an Obama pep rally with the African American Student Association, and sponsoring a coat drive for a local church. Thus these students are very deserving, regardless of their age and the color of their skin.

This trip embodies everything that Obama stands for -- unity, cohesion and an assembly of people of all ages, races, genders, creeds and colors.

The sacrifice that these students have made is unbelievable. This will be one of the greatest experiences that a student can learn from and apply to the residual knowledge that a college education is supposed to provide.

"What started out as a dream is now a reality," said Drew Steadman, president of the WSU College Democrats. "We are going on the trip of a lifetime. We have worked hard to make this trip possible, and we are actually going."

Tyler Emerson, executive director of the group, said: "This is a very special trip for us. We have worked really hard."

When a professor hears these comments, there is a sense of gratification, worth and purpose. Also, they reinforce that, despite their age and racial makeup, these students understand the importance of the day.

Are we at a place in our history in which we can draw a line in the sand and ameliorate the social inequality that has plagued our country? Is this generation of students going to move the country in a "new" direction?

"We are a new generation of students, and our participation in the presidential inauguration should display that," Steadman said. "Going to this event will be a defining moment in my life. I want to be a part of the generation that moves this country forward and makes it a better place for all of mankind."

William T. Hoston is an assistant professor of political science at Wichita State University.

OBAMA FULL INAUGURATION SPEECH

Presidential Inauguration: Part 4 ---WILLIAM HOSTON

President-Elect Speaks At Free Concert

Presidential Inauguration: Part 2 ---WILLIAM HOSTON

Presidential Inauguration Notes

BUNDLE UP: Meteorologists are predicting highs in the upper 20s or low 30s and cloudy skies through Tuesday.

GET OUT THOSE WALKING SHOES: Much of central Washington will be closed to traffic from 3 p.m. on Monday until 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Walking, biking and public transit will be the only ways to get around, officials say. Most inbound lanes on bridges will be closed. Drivers can expect heavy congestion on major roads. Most parking near the National Mall will be closed off.

Planners originally anticipated up to 10,000 private charter buses carrying 500,000 participants to the inaugural events, but as of Wednesday afternoon only 2,615 buses had been registered with the city for parking. Various sections of the city will be reserved for bus parking, including Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

OR THOSE BICYCLE HELMETS: The Washington Area Bicyclist Association will provide free valet bicycle parking on Inauguration Day for up to 2,000 bikes in two lots: one on the south side of the Jefferson Memorial and the other on 16th Street NW, between I and K Streets.

OBAMA’S ON THE (METRO) TICKET: Washington’s subway system, the Metro, has extended its hours of operation and is bracing for some of the heaviest crowds since it opened in 1976. It will be open from 7 a.m. on Saturday to 3 a.m. on Sunday, from 7 a.m. to midnight on Sunday, and from 5 a.m. on Monday to 2 a.m. on Tuesday. On Inauguration Day it will open at 4 a.m. and stay open until 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

From Friday through Wednesday, the Metro will run additional buses on the B30 route, which connects the Greenbelt, Md., terminus on the Green Line to the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and on the 5A route, which links the L’Enfant Plaza transit hub with the Rosslyn, Va., station on the Blue and Orange Lines, and Dulles International Airport. The capital’s closest airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, has a station on Metro’s Yellow and Blue lines.

Subway fares vary by time of day and distance traveled. Metro is selling commemorative fare cards, one-day passes and SmarTrip cards (which use a radio-frequency identification chip and are tapped rather than inserted) bearing Mr. Obama’s image.

Two of the subway stations closest to the Capitol — the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter station on the Green and Yellow Lines and the Smithsonian station on the Blue and Orange Lines — will be closed all day on Tuesday.

And because of their proximity to inaugural balls, the Mount Vernon Square-Seventh Street-Convention Center station on the Yellow and Green Lines will close at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, and the Judiciary Square station on the Red Line will close at 4 p.m.

PILLOWS AT A PREMIUM: Pretty much all of Washington’s 29,000 hotel rooms are booked, not to mention hotels in suburban Maryland and Virginia and even parts of West Virginia. But initial projections that apartment owners and renters would be able to rent out their apartments for exorbitant amounts — more than $1,500 a night — largely did not come to pass. Some short-term rentals are still available through Craigslist, but most are far from the Capitol and run at least $300 a night.

WHAT NOT TO PACK: Not only are weapons prohibited from the inauguration, the inaugural parade route and the 10 official inaugural balls, but also items like umbrellas, aerosol sprays, signs, coolers, thermal containers, backpacks, duffel bags, laser pointers and alcoholic beverages.
“Surrendered items will not be returned, nor available for pick-up,” the Secret Service has warned.

SOLD OUT: The 240,000 tickets for the hourlong swearing-in ceremony are long gone, but scalping has been widely reported. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, has introduced legislation to make the sale and counterfeiting of inaugural tickets a federal crime. The Web sites eBay and StubHub.com have banned sales of inaugural tickets.

Ticket holders should arrive at least three hours before the ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m.
More than 13,000 people — and 90 music, cultural and community groups, along with members of the Armed Forces — are to take part in the inaugural parade, which will start at 2:30 p.m.

BATHROOM BRIGADES: Workers will set up 5,000 portable toilets throughout the National Mall and along the parade route of Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Generally, National Park Service regulations call for one portable toilet for every 300 people, which would suggest that the officials are expecting 1.5 million people for the inauguration.

Inauguration officials have warned parents that ticket holders for the ceremony will not be allowed to bring strollers and that there will be no place to change diapers.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: City officials warn that most hospitals will not provide nonemergency care on Monday and Tuesday. The city plans to set up nearly 50 medical stations around the inaugural events, with health care workers from federal and city agencies.

Some hospitals are urging people to fill out a medical history card, including emergency contact information, and to carry it with them.

SUSTENANCE: Last month Washington’s City Council passed emergency legislation allowing restaurants, taverns, hotels, nightclubs and other retailers with licenses to sell alcohol on the premises to serve drinks until 4 a.m., and to stay open 24 hours a day from Jan. 17 to 21.

There will be some 716 street vendors selling food downtown and near the National Mall. The city will also set up more than 1,000 overflow vending locations, near major transportation hubs.

TEXT, DON’T CALL: Wireless carriers are expecting heavy usage during the inauguration. To limit the number of delayed messages and dropped calls, text messages, which use less bandwidth than voice calls, are recommended. Visitors are also urged to save, and delay sending, videos and photos until well after the ceremonies have ended, and to establish rendezvous points with friends in case signals fail. And all are advised to carry paper maps in case G.P.S. devices and software aren’t working.

MY PARENTS WENT TO THE INAUGURATION, AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS T-SHIRT: The official Presidential Inaugural Committee store, at 625 E Street NW, will close after Wednesday. From Saturday through Wednesday, the store’s hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Presidential Inauguration: Part 1

On January 17, I will be traveling to the Presidential Inauguration along with the WSU College Dems (Faculty Advisor). This will be an awesome trip. We travel to Philly, lodged there, and proceed to D.C. on Inauguration Day (the night before). While in Philly we will visit some of the historical sites (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, African-American Museum, etc.).

On a personal note, the first day will be one of reflection. I will be reflecting about my Grandmother, Mildred Hoston, whom would have loved to witness an historic event as the Presidential Inauguration. More to come...

President-Elect's Middle Name

Presidential Inauguration

The presidential inauguration is the official day that the President of the United States is sworn into office. The purpose of this inauguration is to honor the incoming president with formal ceremonies, including: a Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony, an Inaugural Address, and an Inaugural Parade.

The inauguration will take place on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. on the steps of the United States Capitol. President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office, which states the following:

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Vice President-elect Joe Biden will have already taken a similar oath.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee is in charge of planning and executing the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. If you want to participate in inauguration day events, check back here often for more details.