View from the Bridge: Going ‘Inside Washington’
0Written by Jordan Freeman
Early in January, Dr. Nancy Cade, Davenport Distinguished Professor of History and Political Science and chair of the division of social science, led a group of seven UPIKE students, including myself, to “Inside Washington 2015” in Washington D.C. “Inside Washington 2015” was a two-week seminar that consisted of two parts. The first week was “Exploring Bipartisan Solutions and the New Congress.” The second week covered “Politics and Media.”
Tony Cerise, director of academic seminars, was the seminar coordinator. Each morning, students reported to the academic auditorium around 8:20. Activities usually got rolling soon after that, beginning with Cerise going over a couple of house rules and also sharing the agenda for the day. Then, he turned it over to faculty director Meena Bose, Ph.D. Bose serves as a professor of political science at Hofstra University. However, in Washington, she gave us a little more insight on what to expect about each topic that would be discussed for the day.
The panels usually consisted of several different speakers. Each speaker gave different perspectives on bipartisanship, politics, and media. Some speakers were insightful, and others were hard to follow. However, I learned something from each speaker regardless of the topic they covered.
My favorite speaker of the seminar was former Governor of Vermont, Howard Dean. Dean covered “The Federal Budget — Financing The American Dream.” He discussed how important our generation is when it comes to bettering our country. Things have changed so much since the people who run our country were in our shoes.
Dean said, “Until people accept the way times have changed, things will continue to be the same.”
I strongly believe in that statement.
The Washington Center was more than just sitting in a room listening to current and former politicians, we were also given the opportunity to explore Washington D.C., and view pieces of history that we see on TV or have learned about from history books. Some of the places I visited were the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Capitol. Two of the site visits we went on were Voice of America, which is an external broadcast institution of the United States federal government, and Media Matters, which is a non-profit progressive research and information center.
This trip truly was an amazing experience. I will always remember and appreciate getting to speak with political figures, going on site visits, and touring Washington D.C. I highly recommend anyone to attend the Washington Center seminars or internship, especially if you’re looking to go into politics, or even if you aren’t thinking about going into politics. It’s a great way to gain more information about what goes on behind the scenes and what we tend to look over.