Eight hundred miles from home, five Daily Egyptian staff members trekked the concrete jungle through an arctic blast that made President Donald Trump’s inauguration only the second in 40 years to be relocated indoors.
We all owe a large thank you to those who made this possible for us. It is an experience that will set us forthright on our journeys into this career field and it is a valuable lesson that we will keep with us. Thank you for putting your trust in us to carry out this assignment and to represent the School of Journalism, we appreciate it. Here are our perspectives on this unique experience.
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Lylee Gibbs, editor-in-chief
It’s August and I’m met with the idea of a group of us from the Daily Egyptian traveling all the way to Washington, D.C., to cover the inauguration – regardless of the 2024 election results. Over the summer, it was a surreal concept that sat in the back of my mind. Then I blinked and suddenly I’m loading an white university van with my camera equipment to drive 800 miles east with four of my friends and colleagues.
We arrived in D.C. and hit the ground running. My clothes were left wet after rain, hail and snow showered on us day one. But it never dampened my mood, I was just thankful to be there with a job to do. I spent both my days outside documenting what was happening and had to become a friend to the arctic.
Things were changing by the minute after the weather moved events indoors and we had to adjust as well. I remember walking all around with Enan Chediak, the DE’s photo editor, the morning of the inauguration, unable to find a protest we were looking for. We ran into the line filled with people waiting to get into Capital One Arena – where Trump’s supporters gathered to watch the inauguration – and we decided that’s where we needed to be at that moment. We spent some time making images and grabbing quick interviews before trekking across the city for a rally where the environment became much more fast-paced.
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I think this entire trip was such a groundbreaking experience. I was in the front seat to a moment in this historical chapter of our lives and I am beyond thankful for the opportunity. I returned to Carbondale assured in my career decision and remind myself every day that this program has brought me endless opportunities – this trip being a prime example.
Carly Gist, news editor
When I heard the School of Journalism was looking to send students to the presidential inauguration early in the semester, I told myself that no matter which candidate won the election, I was going to apply for a chance to gain hands-on experience covering history. As a reporter, my job is to cover what is happening regardless of my personal opinion, and in D.C., I witnessed both sides of the coin.
Thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world gathered in Washington, D.C., for Trump’s second inauguration. Some were there in celebration and others in opposition, but they had one thing in common: symbolic expression.
On Sunday, Trump’s supporters lined up outside the Capital One Arena, hoping to enter his Make America Great Again Victory Rally before its 20,000-person capacity was reached. We approached people in the crowd, and I was surprised to find that it wasn’t just Americans celebrating — I saw a group of men carrying around a British flag and spoke to two Canadians who traveled from Alberta for the occasion. On Monday, I spoke to those who were celebrating a different occasion — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dominique – our student managing editor – Will – a DE videographer – and I walked to King’s memorial in icy winds around 8 in the morning and interviewed visitors. Later that afternoon, we traveled by Lyft to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church for the National Action Network’s MLK Day Rally, featuring a sermon from the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Both days ended the same for me — filing into the apartment with my co-workers, cracking jokes and laughing deliriously at one another – because we’re hilarious or because we didn’t sleep more than three hours each night, I’m not sure. But each day brought different groups of people with different beliefs and a different cause they were fighting for. This trip challenged my range as a journalist, and I walked away with a passion for the field burning brighter than ever before.
Enan Chediak, photo editor
Having attended Hostile Environment Training only a week before, I was prepared for the worst on this inauguration trip. I felt like I overpacked, spent a lot of money on personal protective equipment and generally stressed myself out for the inevitable possibility that there would be a flood, a fire and a hurricane happening all at once in Washington, D.C. I still haven’t eaten all of the snacks that I packed.
Despite all of this, I still wasn’t prepared for the inauguration. To my surprise, I didn’t have to use a tourniquet, thankfully, nor did I have to pack any wounds – both skills we learned in our pre-trip training. In many ways, the trip went without event. But I do think I learned a lot about how to pace myself and listen to my body while working long hours.
The first major hurdle for me was driving. While I had driven a van before, I certainly had never driven one on a road trip, let alone in D.C. I was expecting to have more difficulty driving in the city but only had trouble finding parking spots and not accidentally running stop signs or turning the wrong way down a one-way road.
Everybody I met told me to dress warmly before I left. I guess I didn’t believe them. Maybe I underestimated how cold it was going to be. Yet I was only in the rain and sleet for about two hours on Sunday and immediately knew that I had not worn enough layers.
Thankfully, I covered a story indoors. Carly and I could see the snow falling from the windows of the office building as we covered Congressman Mike Bost’s reception in the warmth, while Lylee, Dominique and Will worked in the rain, sleet, and snow.
The next day, much of the snow had gone, although some places were still slick. Many people wrote political messages in the snow on people’s windshields. But the weather was much more manageable. I wore far more layers, knowing that I would be outside for much longer, and took longer breaks indoors.
Also, I ate food! My mom should be so proud of me: I ordered a pizza. I tried doing it over the phone, but the person on the other end of the line hung up on me because my service was bad. We stayed up late, working on stories, filing images, and putting things online, and the next day we were up early again.
We also attended a Tiny Desk Concert. To be honest, I had never heard of Tiny Desk until this trip, but it was interesting. The music was jazz and big-band inspired, with elements of rap and R&B.
Traveling back was also a great experience for me. I think the exhilaration of covering the inauguration carried over for me because I stayed up till 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday even though I had class the next day.
I’m really proud of the work the Daily Egyptian produced as a result of this trip and am thankful for the part that I was able to take in it. I’m really fortunate to be able to collaborate with like-minded students who like Buc-EE’s as much as me.
Dominique Martinez-Powell, student managing editor
This trip caused me a lot of anxiety. I quite frankly lost a good amount of sleep over it. Sleeping during the trip was an issue as well. But there was always excitement behind the anxiety. I heard rumors of plans to send students to the inauguration before the 2024 election had even wrapped up and I knew, regardless of the results, I wanted to be there.
Fast forward to me death-gripping a steering wheel thinking of everything that could go wrong after our very helpful but panic-inducing safety training. I just wanted to make it to D.C., and the clunky tilting monster of a van SIU travel services gave us was not giving the faith that we were gonna beat the snow predicted in D.C. the next day. Luckily, we did make it – a first of many wins on the road to Washington, D.C.
We started the trip going to a Trump rally. For me, this was uniquely scary. I was walking into a space with odd stares and a snubbed handshake or two. I had a moment of thinking, “What the hell are you doing? You did not need to put yourselves in this situation.” Luckily most were friendly and open to discussion.
The night when we returned home was long and filled with delirious editing from all of us. We struggled through the night to get everything up in the dead of night and forgot to feed ourselves. This probably did not help us be the best journalist we could be. As our editor-in-chief said, “The malnutrition goes crazy. I haven’t had a real meal in days.” Enan did end up ordering pizza eventually after a few reminders from our loving faculty managing editor Alee Quick.
The second day covering the MLK rally went even more smoothly despite some rudeness from a documentary filmmaker that was in the press section. I got to see the two faces of D.C. during inauguration time and I think both were equally important for me to experience as I move forward in my journey toward a career in journalism. I am forever grateful for the opportunity provided to us and even more grateful that we made it home safe and sound, with new and stronger bonds that will follow us all into our professional careers.
Will Elliott, videographer
If you were to tell me at the beginning of the year that I would be going to D.C. as a reporter, I would say that you were crazy and also who are you and how did you find my home address?
I am just a small freshman on a journey for knowledge. Collecting what knowledge I desire inside of a school that I can proudly say, spoils and loves me like I am one of their own. I started off as a cinema major because frankly I thought making movies was my path in life, but to quote my loving father, “SIU is meant for experiments and finding new passions that guide you to YOUR path of happiness.”
Washington, D.C., was my first SUPER-BIG assignment and also the first assignment I did where I had to travel outside of state borders. D.C. itself was a magical experience. Being a few feet away from some of the biggest civil rights leaders of my time and getting to hear them speak at the National Action Network’s MLK Day Rally was incredible. Also being put inside of these massive national news stories was such a vicious learning experience that left me in a state of “I’m not leaving this trip without a massive lesson.”
From me not being able to say African Methodist Episcopal Church to me cuddling a stuffed Buc-ee’s beaver to me enjoying a NPR Tiny Desk Concert, I think I have had one of the funniest, monumental and influential journalism experiences of my entire life.
For my few final words, I would like to thank the following: Jan Thompson, Benjy Jeffords, Alee Quick, Steve North, Mary Long, Kari Alore, Mark Indraca and my four incredible inauguration co-workers for helping me become the journalist I am today.
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