WASHINGTON-Several dozen students-the majority from Students for Peace, but also handful from the Brandeis Republicans-journeyed here last Thursday to witness President Bush's second inauguration. For Students for Peace, it was a mission of protest; for the Republicans, a ride of victory.The students boarded a dimly-lit Crystal Transport coach at about 8 p.m. Wednesday evening that drove through the night, making rest stops in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Though many tried to catch some shut-eye before their days of protest or partying, the bus was seldom bereft of energetic debate between Republicans and members of Students for Peace. (Though Students for Peace is officially non-partisan, its representatives on the trip to Washington went in opposition to the president.)

Not everyone on board hailed from Brandeis. Through its communication with other area student groups, Students for Peace was able to bring students from Bowdoin College and Northeastern University.

Eric Pekar '08, who founded Students for Peace shortly after Bush's re-election with Senator for the Class of 2008 Sam Vaghar '08, described the group's purpose as finding ways to achieve peace.

Pekar used the word "peace" generally, but he sees that usage appropriate.

"[Peace is] something we like to use because of how general it is," Pekar said on the bus. "Many people in our group have different political views. A lot of them are very liberal, [but] we have a few people who are Republicans, some conservatives."

For Vaghar, peace is hardly confined to matters of armed violence.

"It's a matter of structural violence, illness [and] poverty," he said. "Obviously there's some disparity in this world and I'm looking to somehow, from grassroots activism, instead of always turning to our government, saying, 'Hey, we as people can make a difference.' "

Pekar said that the trip to Washington was planned almost immediately after the election.

"We thought it was something that would wake people up," he said. Coordinating the trip with the Republicans was a "way to provide discussion."

The Republican traveling group was comprised of all first-years: Wolfe, Michael Goldman, Robbie Schwartz and Amelia Liebhold, a Democrat, who accompanied the Republicans for the opportunity to witness a presidential inauguration.

The Republicans first went to the Cannon House Office Building to pick up inauguration tickets from a somewhat surprising source: the office of Representative Steve Israel, a Democrat from Long Island.

Schwartz, a native of Dix Hills, is Israel's constituent and called his congressman a leader among the Blue Dog Democrats, a caucus of House Democrats that occasionally breaks party ranks and supports Republican-backed legislation on fiscal issues.

Over at the Hart Senate Office Building, a modern, nine-story complex with a great atrium filled with black metallic sculptures, Jacob Baime '08, accompanied by friends from his home state of Florida, joined his fellow Brandeis Republicans while Liebhold picked up her tickets-one from both senators from Hawaii.

Schwartz, Liebhold and Goldman had green inaugural tickets, granting them access to a standing area directly in front of the Capitol. Baime and his friends-James Glenos, a first-year at the University of Florida and Todd Hanse, a first-year at the George Washington University-had gold tickets, good for an area of the National Mall on the far side of the reflecting pool.

Meanwhile, Students for Peace marched from Malcolm X Park to McPherson Square near the Treasury Department. Some carried coffins to recognize the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and a few encountered whiffs of pepper spray.

When they saw the presidential motorcade, many turned away. It was the culmination of an online effort coordinated by a group called Turn Your Back on Bush. And although protesters were restrained or arrested, no Brandeis students drew the attention of the myriad law enforcement officials minding the streets of the capital.

Baime, Glenos and Hanse expected to reach the Mall with relative ease, but at their designated security checkpoint at Third Street and Constitution Avenue they encountered a throng of protesters from the left-wing group Act Now to Stop War and End Racism gathered at the headquarters of the Department of Labor.

Attempting to wait out the protest, they walked the streets of northwest Washington for over an hour-at least the parts that hadn't been fenced off for motorcades and security purposes. Around 11:30 a.m. they returned to the checkpoint and figured out how to navigate through the sea of people, only to encounter a few overwhelmed National Guardsmen trying to maintain order over tens of thousands of protesters and Bush supporters.

Had Baime and his friends stayed in line, they would have missed the inauguration. They resigned themselves then to the most accessible seat in the country: in front of the television. Hanse led the group to the student center at GWU.

"President Bush is moving forward with pride, purpose and unshakable resolve," Baime said with a victorious optimism in his voice.