I arrived with one of my student reporter colleagues to our first presidential rally at East Los Angeles College on May 5. After a drive in the usual L.A. traffic, I found myself in the realm of professional trail-birds and journalists who join a campaign trail and ride it through to the November election. We approached the media check-in desk and handed them our press passes. The people checking us in saw my student media badge and checked that we were on the list.

Hillary supporters were lined up around the block. I was glad we didn’t have to wait in that line. My colleague Cory Jaynes and I went in and snagged a spot with a good vantage point to cover the former Secretary of State. There were reporters from CNN, ABC, MSNBC, Fox, Univision, local station KTLA, and so many more. I was in with the big kids. It was easy to stay professional on the outside, but inside I was screaming. Not only was I reporting on a campaign trail, but I was also getting to see Hillary Clinton speak.

She was eloquent, clear, collected, and inspiring. The crowd inside loved her and so did the media. Her supporters were loud and enthusiastic, hardly able to keep quiet. There were a couple of Berners who were tossed out, but neither Clinton or her supporters acted with aggression. She even said, “We don’t need to shout at each other; that’s the other side. So let’s talk instead of shouting.” She wanted to bridge the divide between Berners and her own supporters. It was obvious that she wanted to unite the party.

But a storm was brewing . Reporters kept going outside and when they returned, many had come to the same conclusion: the Berners were scary.