By Menachem Wecker
“By the looks of the people celebrating outside of the White House, I am willing to say three quarters are George Washington University students,” tweeted Max Bretos, an anchor for ESPN.
Mr. Bretos wasn’t the only one to notice the GW students in the crowd in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue celebrating President Obama’s announcement that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.
“Man, according to twitter, half of campus is out there,” tweeted the Foggy Bottom Blog.
Brianna Keilar, CNN’s congressional correspondent, described hundreds of young people flocking from the direction of George Washington University to the White House.
Of the hundreds of tweets mentioning GW students last night, many focused on the university’s proximity to the White House – a mere handful of blocks.
“Oh George Washington University students – they got down there quick enough,” tweeted Brendon Carr, whose Twitter bio described him as an American attorney in Seoul, Korea. “Speech has been over only about five minutes.”
One of those students, senior Michael Komo, was live tweeting what he described as a “historic night.”
Over the course of two hours, he tweeted, “Running to the White House to celebrate our nation’s victory,” “I’m chanting U.S.A. outside the White House with all of my wonderful GW classmates,” “What a magical way to end my GW career: celebrating our nation’s success with my best friends at the White House!” and “Tonight epitomizes why being a political science major at GW and a legislative affairs candidate at the Graduate School of Political Management is truly magical.”
Mr. Komo also noted that Ed Henry, a senior White House correspondent at CNN and a professional fellow at GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs, had mentioned GW twice in his broadcast.
Matt Trainum, director of GW’s Guide to Personal Success program, told GW Today that he recognized freshmen, seniors and alumni in the crowd outside the White House.
“They were being part of something that transcended our campus, something that was greater than our city,” he said. “GW was part of an international event, celebrating a victory side-by-side with Geraldo Rivera, Spiderman and the world. Nights like last night show why GW is the place to be.”
Keith Osentoski, a sophomore from Roscommon, Mich., majoring in political communication, told GW Today that last night was a “moment in American history” that he and his peers will never forget.
“Our generation has come of age in a post 9-11 world. We have seen grief and sacrifice, pain and sorrow, death and destruction, and this moment will stick with us forever,” he said. “We did not spend the night watching the news on TV or crammed in a library studying, but, instead, we stood with thousands of our closest friends in front of the White House. I think last night encapsulates how proud we are to be Americans and Colonials.”