[media-credit name=’Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Despite the cold weather, a number of University of Wisconsin students made the trek to Washington, D.C., last week to hear President Bush’s Inauguration Speech.

Some students went to support Bush, while others made the journey to protest the Bush administration.

Thirteen UW College Republicans attended the inauguration event last Thursday to support Bush’s second term in office. Former UW College Republican chair Frank Harris drove to the event with his father and watched Bush’s speech from the Capitol lawn. Looking back, Harris said, it was a great experience. Harris also attended Bush’s Inauguration in 2001.

“[Bush’s] message [of] liberty and freedom resonated really well,” Harris said. “I was able to appreciate this [Inauguration] more [than the one in 2001] — there was so much tradition and history.”

College Republicans executive board member Erica Christenson also watched the inaugural speech from the Capitol grounds.

“It’s a real life experience … [and] I was completely blown away by it,” she said.

Bush supporters acknowledged the lack of protester presence in this Inauguration as compared to 2001, noting the protesters they did see were non-violent.

UW senior Beth Fallon took the Amtrak from Madison to the nation’s capital to protest the 55th presidential Inauguration. Fallon joined a crew of people aboard the “Peace Train,” a group of progressive individuals traveling to Washington to show their opposition of the administration.

The mission of the Peace Train is to deliver peace and demand environmentally friendly transportation, according to Tim Castleman, organizer of the group. Some travelers aboard the Amtrak took part in the Peace Train, which began its journey in California, by writing a letter to Congress requesting conservation of fossil fuels. They also wrote to demand that the president fully fund Amtrak and protect it from privatization.

“We need to unite in our opposition to this administration,” said Nathan Nickens, a university student from Toledo, Ohio, who protested with the Peace Train. “We have to remember [the administration is] all about their image — just our presence there is important to let them know they do not have a good portion of this country’s support.”

Fallon thought the Inauguration event was “very interesting” because the protesters had a variety of reasons for opposing the administration — such as money for education and healthcare. Anti-war protesters were among the majority of protesters, according to Fallon.

Kathleen Nichols, a recent UW graduate, flew to Washington from New York City to participate in the protest events as well. People were mostly peaceful and non-confrontational, Nichols added.

“It was very civil between the two groups — there was an understanding [between both groups] that it’s not about enemies, it’s just a difference of opinion,” Nichols said.

Harris compared the protest to a typical Madison protest consisting mainly of “ultra-liberal” individuals. Christenson said she expected many more protesters.

“I would recommend any college student — when you do support a president — to make a trip out to [a presidential Inauguration],” Christenson said. “Being American we should all participate in this process at one [point in] our lives.”

Chrissy Tuli contributed to this article.