Former Evening Sun Staff Writer Anna Ginelli attended the Democratic National Convention as part of a political reporting class with Syracuse University. She took pictures and wrote about her first person experience at the historic event that took place in Chicago from August 19 to 22. (Photo from Anna Ginelli)

From early June to mid August, the Evening Sun welcomed Newhouse School at Syracuse University student and Staff Writer Anna Ginelli as a part of our regular newsroom team. During her time in the community, she covered a number of issues, including local elections and politics. After departing from the newspaper, she was able to attend the Democratic National Convention and shares her experience with our readers.

CHICAGO – What many initially thought would be just another Democratic National Convention turned into a historical event when President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 Presidential Election on July 21, 2024, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new presidential candidate.

My name is Anna Ginelli, and I am a Syracuse University journalism and political science student. This year, I was privileged to attend the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago with nine other S.U. students as part of a political reporting class I am taking.

Though I was excited when I first discovered I was going, the excitement amplified when the DNC became one of the most unprecedented conventions in U.S. history after Biden removed his name from the ballot for this election cycle. My political preferences aside, I knew this trip would be an opportunity to experience my dream of being a political journalist before I graduated college.

Upon arrival in Chicago on the Sunday before the convention, several volunteers greeted reporters like myself as well as delegates at the airport. Delegates are individuals elected to represent their state or voting district. Each state has a delegation, or voting body of delegates, that will vote whether or not to approve the nominated candidate. Throughout the convention, I tracked New York’s delegation, which consisted of 307 delegates.

Monday started strong with the New York delegation breakfast at 7 a.m. Each delegation had a breakfast every morning, consisting of speeches from top democratic leadership from across the country. Some speakers I saw at the New York breakfasts throughout the week included N.Y. Governor Kathy Hochul, N.Y. Sen. Chuck Schumer, N.Y. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, to name just a few.

Following the breakfasts, several caucuses and council meetings were held in McCormick Place, a large convention center. Examples of caucus meetings included the Native American Caucus and the Women’s Caucus, while council meetings consisted of the Ethnic Council and the Youth Council. These midday meetings would last from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., and I attended them as necessary.

Preparation for the main event began around 4 p.m. I would head over to the United Center with a few other students and go through a lengthy Secret Service security check, which included them checking the several credentials we wore on lanyards around our necks.

Once we were cleared to enter, we walked around the perimeter outside the United Center, where the press tents were set up. Seeing the many world-renowned press tents set up near ours was exciting, which we shared with other students.

Before the convention program began at approximately 5:30 p.m., I and the 15,000 other members of the press in the perimeter started to make a game plan for what to cover that night. We received a timed schedule and some speeches ahead of time to prepare as best we could.

Though all ten students and our professors were allowed in the perimeter simultaneously, we only had four passes that permitted us to enter the United Center so we would rotate. Despite this limitation, across the four nights of the convention, I saw Biden, former president Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and the talented Stevie Wonder.

On the last day of the convention, the fire marshall ordered the entrance to the United Center floor to be closed because it was so packed that permitting more people on the floor would be a fire hazard. So, I did not get to see Harris speak. But maybe I will in the future if I make it as a political journalist someday.

The nights ended at 10 p.m., though the trek back to my hotel allowed me to sleep much later. The exhilaration of the week kept my adrenaline pumping so I could go to sleep late and then wake up early each morning. However, I crashed pretty hard as soon as I returned home to Philadelphia that Friday morning.

In speaking with many delegates, they said they had not been this hopeful about a candidate in a very long time. Schumer said at one of the N.Y. delegation breakfasts that he was invigorated by the Democratic Party's momentum that week in Chicago and was confident that the energy would take the Harris-Walz ticket far in the election.

Though I have nothing to compare this convention to, I was inspired to see so many individuals so passionate about a cause. I am very interested to see where the party’s enthusiasm will take them in this election cycle. All in all, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to see history first-hand.