The Observer, February 22, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 18
Crowd control, mosh pits, and Bill Clinton: a story
Unless you've been living under a rock for a couple of months, you are surely aware of the current presidential race taking place. However, you are less apt to know that Bill Clinton was recently right here in Cleveland, throwing an impromptu rally for his wife at nearby Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) on Jan. 29. With Hillary just barely trailing Barack Obama, the Clintons are intensely rallying in major delegate states, such as Ohio. I was fortunate enough to attend the rally, and even shake hands with Bill himself.
I actually did not find out about the rally until the very night before through one of my friends, who is a huge Hillary supporter. She is involved in the Case Democrats, and I was lucky enough to catch a ride with them. At first I was not too interested in going, but I decided to accompany her, as I could not pass up a possible photo opportunity since my parents are huge admirers of Bill Clinton.
On the day of the event, my friend and I sped through our calculus quiz to catch our ride with the president of the Case Democrats. Once we found our way to Tri-C and got to the right place, we were put to work in the crowd control unit. We lucked out because there was no crowd to manage, due to the event's meager advertisement. After finishing our volunteer service, the four of us who rode along snagged third-row seats, less than eight feet from the podium.
This gave me fascinating firsthand insight into how a rally was put together. It was interesting to see all the planning that goes into it: certain people sit in specific places, and others hold the campaign signs that many have become accustomed to seeing on TV. Every third person in a row was given one to hold for the cameras.
After much waiting, the show finally started. Cleveland's congresswoman, Stephanie Tubbs Jones is a co-chair in Hillary's campaign, and therefore was the one to announce Bill Clinton. When he stepped out from behind the curtain, the audience went wild for pictures. My friends and I were frantically trying to get a shot of him as the whole gym turned into a crowd of paparazzi.
Once he went up to the podium to calm down the crowd, I was given the opportunity to observe him. When he was in office, I was far too young to care about politics; cartoons were simply much more entertaining. Now, as he was standing in front of me, his speech took on new power and meaning, without being dampened by the filter of television. Just the aura of his being made the presidential race seem more important and personal to me.
After he finished his speech, he was humble enough to go around and shake hands with some of the attendees. I was lucky and quick enough to occupy an opening by the barrier. When he came closer to me, I felt the whole crowd shift in my direction. With the pressure of hundreds of people all trying to make their way to the front of the crowd, I felt as though I was in a mosh pit of sorts. Only with people who were much less apt to be seen in a concert setting. This discomfort subsided when I whipped out my camera for some shots of Bill Clinton right next to me. To make this experience even better, he actually shook my hand as he was talking to another attendee about Hillary's foreign policies. This made for fantastic closure to my eventful day as my friend and I made our exit from the packed gym. Now, if I can just pull some strings to get tickets to the debate on Tuesday.
