The Final Morning

By Jessica Minton

After Tuesday's activities and chaos, there was nothing Wednesday could bring that we could not handle. Looking back on our first day of long walking tours and information overloads, we had all come a long way in four days. Wednesday morning we were allowed to sleep in. That meant we did not have to get up until seven. Compared to three am. wake up calls, it seemed like a treat. The morning was just like the other two, except this time, we wouldn't be returning. We packed our suitcases and loaded the bus for our routine journey into D.C. We passed by monuments that had once been so new, but now seemed so familiar. We dispersed from our Florida friends, as we both went on to explore the many things the city has to offer.
Our final museum was the Newseum. A place dedicated to the first Amendment only seemed fitting to finalize this patriotic trip. Inside this six story building were exhibits dedicated not only to the news and people who provide it, but also to the people who have fought for that right. That would be the right to freedom of speech. There were sections dedicated to Supreme Court cases that argued the first amendment. We saw the actual black armbands from the Tinker v. Des Monies case along with other artifacts and stories.
Other sections of the museum are dedicated to specific events in history and the way they were covered. The 9/11 exhibit contained the front pages from newspapers throughout the country and the world. Not only are there papers, but video from the attacks are streamed with commentary from reporters who were there. A part was dedicated to a photo journalist who had died while trying to capture the moment. All that was left was his camera that was found in the rubble and the photos that were on he film. Just below was an area containing giant pieces of the Berlin Wall. Being able to see the actual wall that separated that country for so long was something I didn't even know people could still do.
A big piece of journalism is photography. The pieces we saw were important moments in history that were captured by people who risked so much to show the world their first hand accounts. A section held all the Pulitzer Prize winning photos. Some pictures were recognizable, well others were new. All were breath taking.
On the day after the Inauguration, the neatest display was the headlines from newspapers all over the world. Some ranging from small town Gazettes, to national newspapers in writing we could not read, but we could understand. They all spoke of the change that was coming, or not so much coming, but happening. Looking around at all of the events that had been covered, and the events that were significant enough to be on display, made us realize something. We were in the midst of a major event. Just like the displays in the museum, the inauguration we had just witnessed is a defining piece of history. And like the journalist we had just learned about, it is our job to report to those who could not be there, just how important this event was.






Here's a link to the Newseum's wrap-up of its own inauguration coverage.