A group of 29 student protesters affiliated with the Georgetown Solidarity Committee marched Saturday at the inauguration of George W. Bush.
Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist swore in Bush in front of an audience of approximately 350,000 people, a large number of whom were protesting the legitimacy of Bush’s presidency. The protesters, present on every block of the 1.6 mile inaugural parade route down Pennsylvania Ave., outnumbered parade watchers and supporters on many blocks.
Protesters included individuals, small groups and large permitted protesters. The Solidarity Committee, a group whose primary focus on campus has been on improving labor conditions in the factories that manufacture Georgetown University apparel, was one of the small groups that didn’t need a permit to protest.
Led by GSC’s president, Nate McCray (SFS ‘03), the students left at 7 a.m. for the site of the parade by foot in order to escape crowds at the police checkpoint near the entrance to the parade site. They paused only once on the way to place a large sheet over a bridge on Pennsylvania Ave. that read, “Don’t blame me, my vote didn’t count.”
At approximately 9:20 a.m., the group passed through the police checkpoint without incident and took their place along the perimeter of the parade route alongside other protesters. Since the students traveled in a small group, they were not required to file permits with the city in order to protest.
The group’s only other direct interaction with the police occurred at 10 a.m., when two policeman verified that the group of students was small enough to protest without a permit.
“By protesting today’s events, we convey the message that history was made so unfairly [in this election] that it’s not something we want to participate in,” Maria Moser (CAS ‘04) said.
Many of the students had taped dollar bills over their mouth to convey the message, “Corporate money stole my voice.” “[Bush and Cheney] don’t represent the people, they represent the corporations,” Eric Nazar (FLL ‘03) explained to a bypasser who questioned why the protesters had covered their mouths.
The students displayed other slogans including, “We adore our corporate whore,” and “Bush and Cheney go away; sexist, racist, anti-gay.”
“We’re hoping to convey a really powerful image here today,” Kara Hayes (SFS ‘03) said.
McCray said that he believed the group’s efforts at the protest had been overall successful.
“I think a lot of people have picked up on our message,” he said, noting that the small group had been joined by protesters from many other groups during the course of the day.
The Georgetown student protesters comprised a small fraction of the total number of protesters. Other protesters present ranged from conservative pro-life groups to citizens who believed that former Vice President Al Gore had actually won the election.
A group of anarchists marched briefly in a row of 7 deep and about 3-4 across. Walking in the usual all-black with bandanas or face-masks, holding a banner with the anarchy symbol in red on a black background.
Cathy Troyer, a junior high student from a Catholic School in Maryland said, “This is ridiculous, these protesters come out to ruin the parade. I think I hate them.”
Many protesters remarked they had scarcely seen a single Bush supporter during the inauguration. Bush supporters up from, where his speech could be heard and seen, were largely oblivious to the heckling and chanting of protesters a few blocks down Pennsylvania Ave.
