Last night's celebration, bin Laden & 9/11 - looking back

As I've been writing about last night's celebration of Osama bin Laden's death, one theme kept popping up - the crowd was mostly college kids. That got me thinking... why college kids?

My first thought was, duh, college kids will take any opportunity available to party. And I'm sure that was partly true. But there was more to last night than drunken revelry. While the crowd did smell like booze a bit, it appeared to be less drunken Greeks and more students, like my friends and myself, who had just rolled out of bed, stone cold sober, but totally high on the euphoria of the situation.

Then a memory hit me. I was at the Newseum a few weeks ago with my friend, Jaime, and we visited the 9/11 exhibit there. The exhibit is home to a very poignant video about the disaster that left us both tearing up and walking away silent, and shaken up.

When we finally spoke, we talked about where we were when we found out planes had hit the twin towers. I was walking up the steps at Frank C. Whiteley Elementary School to Mrs. Hogan's sixth grade classroom with my friend Brittany, who told me that planes had crashed into the twin towers. I was 11 years old, and I honestly had no idea what the twin towers were, much less that our entire world had changed forever that morning.

And then, after Jaime and I finished our stories, Jaime said this - I'm trying to remember a time before 9/11, but I can't. I tried, and realized I couldn't really remember either. I can't remember what it was like to go to an airport without a little apprehension, and of course without removing my shoes and tossing out my water bottle. I don't remember a world without the fear of terrorism.

At that's when I realized why it was students who were celebrating outside the gates of the White House that night. They didn't remember either. And when we were told the symbol of the terror that cast a dark shadow over our world for most of our memorable lives was dead, we couldn't help but gather.

I was watching John King on CNN when I heard it. It was surreal, and hard to believe. King kept repeating the phrase "Osama bin Laden is dead, Osama bin Laden is dead," over and over, trying to get it to sink in. This is for real.

I read somewhere that it was silly for us to celebrate, because bin Laden was likely hardly even effective any more. They're missing the point. More than anything, he was a symbol. A symbol of thousands of our people dead, a symbol of evil, a symbol of fear. Yes, we know the fight against terrorism is not over, not even close. But this is undeniably a step. We killed fear.

Videos: Celebration of Bin Laden's Death Outside White House

Here are some videos I took on my iPhone at the celebration outside the White House late Sunday night, after President Obama announced Osama Bin Laden is dead.

The crowd chants "Obama!"

You can catch the end of the National Anthem here as a young man hangs a flag on a light post and a beach ball flies over the crowd

Not sure why... but these next two came out sideways... ate the beginning of this one you can catch they end of "na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye," at the end you can hear a group of students chanting "I believe that we will win" as they jump up and down in the crowd.

Here the whole crowd sings the National Anthem... it gets a bit messy by the end, but that's what happens when you have this many people try to sing

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

I just returned to my Capitol Hill apartment from the White House, where a mob of people gathered to celebrate the defeat of Osama Bin Laden. Tonight was an epic moment in our country's history and I feel incredibly lucky to have been in our nation's capitol to celebrate it.

crowd outside the White House

I was sitting in my room watching The West Wing when I got a breaking news update on my iPhone from Huffington Post that the president was going to make a speech at 10:30 p.m. EST. I turned to CNN, where I learned first from Wolf Blitzer that the speech would be concerning national security, but not to do with Libya. He said he had his ideas of what was to be said, but didn't want to steal the president's thunder. Then John King let it loose: Osama Bin Laden is dead.

men scaling a light post to hang a flag

It didn't take long for the other students living in my building to bang down on my door. We took off in a full on sprint towards the White House. The walk outside the White House gates was filled with people when we arrived around midnight, and the crowds only continued to grow in the hour or so my friends and I were there.

The crowd was largely comprised of college students. It reminded me a lot of the mob that rushed the field when Mizzou beat Oklahoma at Homecoming last fall. There was non-stop chanting, cheering and singing... everything from a repeated chant of "USA! USA!" and singing of the National Anthem to singing "na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye," chanting "fuck Osama, go Obama," singing "Olé," and chanting "4 more years!" (in reference to Obama's presidency).

the crowd watches men hang a flag on a light post

American flags were EVERYWHERE. People wore them draped over their shoulders, American flag t-shirts, hats, even an American flag bikini. Men scaled light posts to hang flags. When one struggled, the crowd cheered "YES YOU CAN!" People hung flags from the White House fence, and strung them on sticks, tree branches and lacrosse sticks. People climbed trees and carried signs... from Obama/Biden and Bush/Cheney campaign posters to hand-made posters thrown together reading things like "America, Fuck Ya!"

young boy cheers on his dad's shoulders

Inflatable beach balls bounced around the crowd, people crowd-surfed, and the whole placed smell of beer and liquor. I saw one girl lift a bottle of chardonnay.

I saw small children, older adults, but mostly college-aged people. Many races and ethnicities too. A lot of fraternity and sorority letters floating around. Many students shouting "I have a final tomorrow!" or "I have class tomorrow!" I went with a friend who had to be up at 5:30 a.m. to get to work at the State Department.

Overall, this was an incredible experience. The atmosphere was pure jubilation and patriotism.

When I left, more people were coming than going. Drivers on the streets were honking horns, cheering, chanting, hanging out of cars and waving flags. Everyone cheered together, high-fived each other, hugged, jumped, cheered together. Just incredible.

Here are some more pictures from the celebration outside the White House:

One of many wearing a flag draped across their shoulders

Flag on a stick! People were hanging flags on anything they could find.

Every tree in sight was filled with people holding flags.

Camera crew were all over, shooting footage of the scene.

The Newseum - coolest museum in DC

outside the Newseum

Washington, D.C. is full of amazing museums, but the coolest one by far is the Newseum. Now, the reason I love this museum may very well have a lot to do with the fact that it is an entire museum based on the career I am pursuing - news. However, I'm pretty sure it goes beyond that. The Newseum is unique in that it host exhibits on subjects that many of us can actually remember, as opposed to ancient history that we can't really relate to. Also, almost every exhibit incorporates some sort of video or interactive feature that draws in today's audience, who's too lazy to actually stop and read.

The only downside to the Newseum is the price. Yes, there is a price. Unlike most DC museums, the Newseum is NOT free. Adults (age 19-64) pay $21.95; seniors (age 65+), military and students with a valid ID pay $17.95; youth (age 7-18) pay $12.95; and children (6 and younger) are free (though I do not see a reason to bring anyone under the age of 6 to this museum...). The tickets are good for two days though, and you'll probably need both days to thoroughly explore the whole museum. I've gone twice and have used both days both times. It's open daily, 9a.m.-5p.m.

Keep reading, and I'll tell you about my favorite exhibits...

Berlin Wall, west side

Start your visit in the basement. Here you'll find something I didn't even know still existed - a real section of the Berlin Wall. They've also somehow managed to get an actual guard tower from the east side in the museum as well. It's very striking to see the difference between the colorful, graffitied west side of the wall and the barren, desolate east side.

Also in the basement is a gallery of sports photography. Beautiful images here (especially the ones of Michael Jordan!). Just beyond the sports photos is an exhibit on the FBI. Here you'll find the actual wood cabin the unabomber lived in and the car used in the DC sniper attacks, along with exhibits on many other FBI cases, from John Dillinger to Oklahoma City.

After you've finished up with the basement, take the gigantic glass elevator all the way up to the top floor. Here, you'll find my favorite exhibit - Covering Hurricane Katrina. A long hallway depicts the chronology of events through front pages of newspapers from around the world (including one from my own Daily Herald! (see right)). Be sure to step out onto the deck outside this gallery. Some of the best views of DC can be seen here. Back inside, you'll find a very compelling video of news coverage of Katrina. It's made me cry twice. Also, you'll find lots of little things saved from the event, such as a battered camera and doll.

The next exhibit contains historical newspapers, from the very first newspaper to modern day. There's also a fun little exhibit in here about "making fun of the news," which includes a video with clips of Weekend Update from Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert's "threatdown" is there too (see left)! Here, you can also find the door to the room in the Watergate Hotel that was broken into during the Watergate scandal.

Next is a giant video screen showing a reel about presidential photography. They've got some pretty cool images in there.

Next is the 9/11 exhibit. It is very simple. The broadcast antenna from the first tower to be hit sits in the center of the exhibit, preserved, but completely mangled and devastated (see right). Surrounding the tower is a timeline of AP alerts that were released throughout the day. A two-story wall displays front pages from the next day from around the wold. A video tells the story of a photographer who lost his life covering the collapse of the two towers. Then in a room off to the side is a video about covering 9/11. Nearly everyone I've seen walk out of this room has tears trickling down their cheeks. This exhibit is very emotional, moving, and well-done.

Next is Tim Russert's office (see left), relocated to the Newseum.

After that is an exhibit on the first amendment... interesting, but not my favorite in the museum.

Following is a video that is updated weekly, maybe daily... frequently, with footage making light of the news. The lighting in here is bad, so it's kind of hard to see, but it's very funny. There are usually clips of shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Conan, Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno.

Keep going down and there is a little something for the kids. They can pretend to be broadcast reporters at a station on the second floor. Also, the Newseum shows a "4-D" movie about three important historical journalists - Isaiah Thomas, Nellie Bly and Edward R. Murrow. It's incredibly cheesy, but entertaining. The "4-D" means, in addition to wearing silly 3-D glasses, the seats rock back and forth, air is blown in your face... they try to make you actually feel like you're there.

The last thing you HAVE to see is the Pulitzer Prize-winning photography gallery. The images are outstanding.

Also, the Newseum has a great gift shop. I got a black mug that says "trust me, I'm a reporter" on it, and a wine glass painted with little pink cherry blossoms. There are a lot of good books here too. There is a cafeteria in the basement, but it's pretty expensive.