For students on their way to the Conservative Political Action Conference, a little travel mishap didn’t get in the way of a good time.
Despite bus troubles late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning in Ohio, more than 150 Hillsdale students attended this year’s annual CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland, to listen to speakers such as Former Representative Newt Gingrich, governor Scott Walker (R-WI), and senators Rand Paul (R-KY). Hillsdale’s delegation to CPAC was by far the largest from the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, and one of the largest student delegations at the event.
Just after 3 a.m. Thursday morning, one of the four charter buses with Hillsdale students on its way to the conference swerved, tilting onto two wheels, but managed to stay on the road, according to students on the buses.
The bus held mostly students from other colleges and universities, with only a few Hillsdale students on the bus, according to Young Americans for Freedom President Emeritus senior Nathan Brand. After the driver corrected the bus, the students continued to a rest stop, where students and drivers were questioned by authorities.
No one on the bus suffered injuries, but sewage from the toilet splashed onto people and property during the incident. Brand said the students were encouraged to take pictures of everything so they could be reimbursed for losses.
College Republicans President junior Sam Holdeman was in immediate contact with the Dean’s office and Associate Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers.
“We got word that the buses had an incident, that the bus went off the road,” Rogers said. “We were immediately concerned about the students, so we got a manifest of who was on the bus. We’re glad they were all okay.”
Director of Campus Security Bill Whorley then continued contact with Holdeman.
“We wanted to know what was going on as soon as possible,” Rogers said.
Some of the people in a bus behind the lead bus saw it swerve.
“I was trying to sleep when it happened,” sophomore McLain Driver said. “I heard our bus driver say, ‘Oh my god!’ I saw the lead bus veering to the left off the road. They hit the shoulder, and there was this huge cloud of dust. They veered back over, and I saw the bus start to tip.”
Freshman Razi Lane was on the bus that almost flipped.
“Basically, we hit a groove in the side of the road,” Lane said. “The driver overcorrected, the bus went up onto two wheels, and then settled back down. The sewage in the back of the vehicle did flood part of the bus, so that was another reason why we weren’t able to continue with that bus.”
The bus company, Dean Trailways of Michigan, was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
Brand said the caravan waited five hours to get a new bus and driver, but no one sustained major injuries. The other two buses waited for the fourth in the caravan to be restored.
After arriving at the Gaylord Resort and Conference Center just after 3 p.m., the group heard potential presidential contenders senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio (R-FL), governors Walker and Rick Perry (R-TX), and businesspeople Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina speak on a wide range of topics. ISIS, economic recovery, and perceived executive overreach on immigration dominated the discussion.
Freshman Kacey Reeves said she believes Sen. Rand Paul performed the best at CPAC.
“He really energized the youth,” she said. “Sen. Paul touched on key issues important to young Americans, such as a just social policy, and inspired me and other students to get more involved in politics. That energy really translated to his reception with the crowd on the main floor, too.”
On the other hand, freshman CPAC attendee Claire Hughes said she believes Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will come out ahead in the early primaries due to his appearance at CPAC.
“I think Governor Walker came out of CPAC as the frontrunner,” she said. “Not just because he was an engaging speaker, but also because he was able to demonstrate his success in implementing truly conservative policy in his home state.”
Radio host Mark Levin, for instance, ended his speech with just two words: “Kill ISIS.” Fox News personality Sean Hannity asked potential candidate Jeb Bush several hard-hitting questions on immigration and Common Core. Former Ambassador John Bolton fielded questions on a number of foreign-policy-related questions.
“I’m so grateful to the CRs for giving me the opportunity to attend CPAC this year,” freshman Madeline Domalakes said. “It was a blast seeing a variety of speakers with such a huge audience that was so enthusiastic about conservative principles and winning in 2016.”
While the talks at CPAC dominated much of some students’ time, others took the time to visit the city and continue to network throughout the District.
Senior John Taylor said despite the ups and downs of the trip, he enjoyed himself overall.
“Horrible bus rides and frightening right-wing populism aside, I enjoyed the weekend immensely,” Taylor said. “My friends and I had a terrific time exploring the big city, walking around the mall, experiencing the National Gallery, heading to whiskey bars, and relaxng at the Kirby center. The convention itself was huge, impressive, and left me much to ponder.”
Some of the students even gained national recognition when a photo of senior Nathan Brand, freshman Jack Sinko, and junior John Bell taking a selfie with Former Senator Rick Santorum appeared in USA Today.
“When I saw my picture in USA Today, I laughed and said, ‘I would be the one to get caught taking a selfie,’” Brand said.
Michael Lucchese contributed to this article.
