A bus trip to Cleveland

By Jonathan Spall ’18

My good friend, and now PoliticsFitzU colleague, Ashley Stevens ’17 who is an English major and Communications minor and I began our journey to cover the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio with a 15-hour bus trip.

We left the bus station in Boston on Saturday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. and with a stop in Buffalo, New York we reached our final destination on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Upon arriving, we walked around the city with excitement and enthusiasm about attending and covering the RNC as members of the media. The bus had let us off in downtown Cleveland in the heart of the Theatre District.

Once we got to Cleveland we saw the possibilities of what we could do with our media status. Immediately we recognized Vermin Supreme with his boot hat when we arrived.

Swarms of security from local sheriffs, all the way up to secret service agents surrounded the area when we exited the bus. With the recent domestic terrorism activities taking place, and the controversy over open carry laws in Cleveland security measures have certainly been put in place. I interviewed Cleveland Police Sargent Burgos. He said, “If there is a protest as long as it’s safe, then people are allowed to express their constitutional right in safe manner.”

After that we saw a group of protesters. Some involved were protesting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump being in their city.  We also saw a Black LivesMatter group of protestors.

Going through the first day of the trip has left us with many questions. Will the Republican Party truly come together and support Donald Trump as their nominee? Or will their be a unexpected twist?

And there is also the question of security. John Kasich who will speak to the NH Delegation Breakfast Tuesday Morning has been pressured by many to put a temporary ban on open Carry laws for the convention week. Will he put a ban on? We will have to wait and see.

Jonathan Spall is a Political Science and Accounting/Finance major from Raynham, Mass. He began working with PoliticsFitzU to cover the First in the Nation Primary and is a frequent guest on the Boston Herald Radio show, Primary Matters. Follow him and the entire team on @PoliticsFitzU this week for continued cover of the RNC.