It's going to take a lot of planning to pack 1 million or more people onto the mall in Washington, D.C. for Tuesday's presidential nomination.

Jennifer Willard, who plans to be there to witness Barack Obama's swearing in, doesn't like the way those plans are shaping up.

Willard, a political science major at the University of Southern Maine, was invited to the event as president of USM's chapter of Golden Key International Honour Society. She's part of a larger group of academic honors students attending a conference organized by the University Presidential Inaugural Conference.

Turns out that the group is expected to arrive at the mall at 6 a.m. Tuesday. That's an hour before sunrise and six hours before Obama takes the oath of office.

"Standing from 6 until noon doesn't sound terribly exciting to me," Willard says, "so I'm trying to think of something more interesting to do."

The evening will definitely be more interesting. Willard and her husband, who live in Cumberland, have tickets to attend the "All American Ball" at the Westin Hotel.

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