Cosby students’ D.C. trip detours

WASHINGTON -- Anticipation, preparation and hours of bone-chilling temperatures to get a glimpse of President Barack Obama at the parade route yesterday ended in disappointment for a group from Chesterfield County's Cosby High School.

Teachers and chaperones decided to pull the group of 55 from the jam-packed crowd because of concerns for the students' safety, said Anne S. Canipe, a Cosby High history teacher who organized the trip.

"This is the first time that I have not been able to get to the parade route," said Canipe, who was attending her eighth consecutive inauguration.

The day began with promise. The group left the hotel in Rosslyn at 6 a.m. and, after a smooth bus ride into the city, walked several blocks to the end of a long line leading to one of the security checkpoints. The students were optimistic and in a festive mood, singing and playing around.

The line began moving at a stop-and-go pace about 7 a.m. The group got through the first barricade and ran down a block of 12th Street to another, thicker crowd going through security. For the next 90 minutes, the crowd moved only a few feet. Some students began fearing they were not going to get to their destination.

"I feel like we're waiting in line for a roller coaster, but there won't be a roller coaster," Jennifer Moss said.

The crowd squeezed tighter, and with people pushing their way forward and an ambulance coming through the crowd, there was some shoving.

Canipe said she heard that the metal detectors at the checkpoint ahead were not working and that security was not letting people in. She decided to pull the students out and regroup because she feared the crowd might get more unstable.

They went to the ESPN Zone at 11th and E streets, where the subdued group watched the swearing-in on TV and ate lunch.

Some students were happy to get out of the cold.

"I actually prefer this to the original plan," said Chris Neville, a junior at Cosby. "I like to be inside and we're going to have lunch. It's going well for a plan that did not go well to begin with."

Brenda Mayo, Cosby High's principal, said that as an African American, she felt ecstatic hearing Obama speak.

"I am proud of my country," she said. "I didn't think that I'd live to see this day."

Alex Miller, a junior, said Obama touched on many virtues that the country holds dear in his speech.

"I think that in the next four years, he'll do a lot of things to improve our country," he said.

"Of course, I would have liked to be there," he said of the change of plans, "but we got to see it on TV, and it's great to be in D.C. rather than in school or at home."

Around 1:30 p.m., the students and teachers attempted again to get to the parade route, but when they saw the long lines for the same security checkpoint, they headed back home instead.

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or .