One Wednesday, myself and two other reporters decided to attend the Grand Rapids rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, two days out from the event. None of us had any experience, not even an idea of where to start. By some miracle and a lot of phone calls, forty-eight hours later the three of us were standing in the press box at Riverside County Park, next to Fox News, CNN, and enough money in camera equipment to buy a house.
“I’d go to that,” were the words that started it all. I had just heard an announcement that a rally was being held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, less than an hour from Loy Norrix. I brought up the idea of reporting on it to a group of students to the newspaper staff, and I was met with hesitation from most of them. However, reporters Dimitri Agdanowski and Livvy Nitz agreed, and with our combined experience of nothing, we decided it would be best to find out how, where, and when to get there as soon as possible.
Intending to attend as press, but with no idea where to start, we decided to RSVP for general admission, thinking we would at least get the time and location. To our surprise, after RSVPing, we found out the venue location would not be announced until 12 hours before the start of the event, which was less than reassuring.
The morning of the event, I woke up at five a.m., checked my email, and saw nothing. No location. I checked everything, every folder: nothing. Fifteen minutes later, my phone vibrated, and I finally saw it. “Venue location: Riverside County Park. 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.”
We arrived an hour before the gates opened. Leaving school at 7:15, we arrived at eight, and saw a line of attendees stretching across the horizon. I had, after hours of calls, managed to get press passes for the three of us, and we were able to march right up past the line to the security gate.
As we got to the gate, we were stopped by the Secret Service, who informed us that we would have to wait until 9:30 to even enter the venue. Over an hour later, in thirty-five degree cold, we stood still and waited at the gates, none of us dressed for the weather, dealing with the boredom by watching our breath form clouds in the air.
When we were let into the venue, we got our spots up on the press box, which was a glorified name for risers above the crowd, and talked to a few other reporters there. The only people there were the setup crew and the reporters, no general admission audience had been admitted.
A reporter for CNN told us that the Vice President wouldn’t be speaking until 2:30 p.m., another five-hour wait. After the first hour, general admission viewers were let in, and hundreds of people flooded the floor, the bleachers, and the area around the venue.
Out of the nearly thousands of attendees, only a few hundred were able to get a spot close enough to see the Vice President speak. Later in the rally, I talked to a group on the ground floor and found out that they arrived and got in line at 5:30 a.m. to secure their spots.
The introductory speakers started at 1:00 p.m., with Michigan Rep. Hillary Scholten who spoke in support of both the Vice President’s campaign and her own re-election campaign to Congress. Following Scholten, former Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow spoke on the importance of voting in the midterm elections, expressing support for the Democratic senate nominee Elissa Slotkin, one of her candidates for replacement.
Before Harris spoke, a group of five Democratic governors came out on stage together and spoke, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Following the governors, Trustee delegate Brian Hein of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters introduced Harris. During her time, she spoke on issues of women’s rights, the auto industry of Michigan and racial equity.
After Harris finished speaking, she walked off the stage into the crowd, which made the flurry of people on the ground level feral. People pushed and shoved their way through the crowd to get a glimpse of the vice president as she made her way around the venue floor.
Exiting the venue by car was the longest process of the whole day. From getting in the car to getting out of the park, it took nearly two hours of inching forward through the road to get out of the park where the rally was held.
Despite the hours of waiting and the stress of the whole process, the three of us all left with a positive experience. Not only did we get to report on a rally, but the experience of going and seeing so many important politicians was surreal. Seeing them and the energy of the crowd is something you can find in few other places.
