2008 Woodie Awards
Recently, I had the pleasure visiting Belmont for the second presidential debate. While I wasn’t able to see each presidential nominee in person, I did witness an amazing event. My friend and fellow journalist junkie, Mateen Sidiq, embarked on this journey not knowing what would be in store. What we found shaped our attitudes toward the political process.
Journalists from TAS tried to gain access to the debate, yet the wall of security that kept so many from attending also blocked TAS. This put gloom over us, as we had hoped so dearly to attend.
Every Monday, The All State creates the newspaper and schedules upcoming content. During one budget meeting several weeks before the debate, our editor in chief asked for volunteers to venture to Belmont in a final attempt to gain any story or photographs from it. I, being the ever volunteer, offered to go.
That historical Tuesday eventually came and Mateen and I loaded his car and traveled to Belmont, camera batteries charged and ink pens wet. When we arrived, we had little idea of which direction to head. Luck would bless us, as a biker pointed us in the correct direction and walked us to the first of many eye-opening experiences.
In front of us, on an island of concrete with cars whizzing by, were a hundred or so Obama supporters. They were cheering and chanting, doing anything in their power to get cars to honk. This would be our first group to photograph and interview. The group left us hopeful we would find many more excited individuals.
As darkness crept upon the city of Nashville, Mateen and I walked to Belmont campus. Here we met loads of excited supporters, NBC news officials, police, and yellow tape. We captured the event in words and photographs. Now all that was left was to watch the actual debate.
At first, we planned to travel to a bookstore and watch the debate on a computer. However, this plan failed. As we prepared to leave, we learned the road in front of the bookstore was blocked to allow McCain to pass through on his way to the debate. As we eagerly waited, his vehicles drove by one by one, and sure enough we caught a glimpse of him.
After finally leaving, we made our way to Mateen’s house and watched the debate. It was the first one I had ever watched, and I found it exciting. As the candidates spoke on various concerns, I typed the story. Once it was over, I e-mailed it to my editor in chief to look over. Afterwards, all that was left was to head back to Clarksville and gain a few hours of sleep.
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Words from The All State staff members.
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