Category: Spring 2014
April 7th, 2014
in Spring 2014, Student's Blog, Washington, DC
By Elle Harrigan
Spring 2014
I came to Washington not really knowing what to expect. I’ve been a political junkie since before I could properly tie my shoes, tagging along with my mom as she voted in the 2000 election, but I still felt incredibly green in the face of the indomitable entity that is Washington, D.C. So much so, in fact, that when asked by my work supervisor on one of my first days in the office if I knew how a bill became a law, I replied “Uh…I think?” I 100% definitely know how a bill becomes a law and have known since Schoolhouse Rock came into my life 12 years ago but I really did not know which aspects of TV Washington I should believe.
Washington might be like what you see on TV. But I certainly didn’t get to see that side of things. What they don’t show you in House of Cards or Scandal is that for every Frank Underwood or Olivia Pope, there are hundreds of staffers and thousands of interns laying the groundwork and fighting the good fight to keep the United States government afloat. Turns out you actually need a lot of people to get that done. Who knew?
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Tagged DC, Elle Harrigan, Spring 2014, What to Expect
April 7th, 2014
in Spring 2014, Student's Blog, Washington, DC
The Case Against Cory Booker
By Michael Neminski
Spring 2014
When I originally signed up to write this blog post, I selected the question “Would you vote to reelect your current representative?.” Yet the ever-changing nature of congressional politics has even impacted the question, as my representative, Rush Holt (D-NJ) has chosen to retire at the end of his term. Therefore I will write about another race going on in my wonderful state, and that is the race for US Senate. In this race, Cory Booker (D-NJ), who won a special election last October, will be seeking reelection. Therefore, for this post I will be focusing on if Cory Booker deserves reelection.
Would not vote to re-elect him.
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Tagged Corey Booker, DC, Michael Neminski, Spring 2014
April 7th, 2014
in Spring 2014, Student's Blog, Washington, DC
By Jordan Bernard
Spring 2014
Me with some of my coworkers from the VA
In Summer 2013 I was lucky enough to spend my time in Dublin, Ireland on the BU Summer Internship Program. It was truly one of the most amazing experiences of my life and the entire summer went by in a blur of fun. My internship was great, the city was great, the bars were great, and the culture was great. But at the end of the day my time spent there was incredible because of the experience I had immersing myself in a country that was new to me and most likely not going to be in my itinerary in the near future. It was an opportunity to forget that I was a rising senior and was going to return to America to a whirlwind of job searches and squeezing in those last minute requirements. I chose to come to Washington, DC my last semester at BU hesitantly in a last-ditch effort to figure out what I wanted to do when the dreaded May graduation date rolled in. As the final weeks in the program approach, I can honestly say that all the fun I had in Ireland could not even come close to competing with my experience in Washington.
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Tagged DC, Ireland, Jordan Bernard, Spring 2014, Study Abroad
April 7th, 2014
in Spring 2014, Student's Blog, Washington, DC
By Monica Gurfinkel
Spring 2014
Looking forward to my mom’s visit and how we would spend the 36 hours we had together in DC, I knew for certain we would visit a museum—but with the number of museums in the city, I had to spend some time contemplating which one we’d visit. The Newseum popped into my head, after all my family still enjoys reading the Sunday edition of the New York Times together, sharing our thoughts on various news sources, and nothing says family bonding more than watching the Colbert Report or the Daily Show before dinner together. Warned by our programs’ faculty at the beginning of the semester that unlike the many museums DC has to offer, the Newseum was not free and we’d be going there later in the semester, I had stayed away, but with my mom’s upcoming visit I thought we would enjoy it.
My mom and I on the Newseum Balcony
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Tagged Monica Gurfinkel, Newseum, Spring 2014
April 7th, 2014
in Spring 2014, Student's Blog, Washington, DC
By Charles Crocker
Spring 2014
As anyone can point out, Washington has little regard for money. With a debt that our grandchildren’s grandchildren will still be paying off, and an ability to pass a budget that’s more in line with fighting over toys in preschool than passing legislation in the government, one has to think if they ever even consider monetary transactions. Well, as it turns out, the currency of Washington is not a five spot with Lincoln’s mug. It’s business cards. A day doesn’t go by where one doesn’t receive or give out info to someone wearing a fancy suit. It’s not about how many bills are in your wallet, rather how many business cards are in your pocket.
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Tagged Charles Crocker, Connections, DC, Networking, Spring 2014
April 7th, 2014
in Spring 2014, Student's Blog, Washington, DC
By Cassandra Carroll
Spring 2014
Our class outside the US Capitol.
In my first week as an intern on Capitol Hill I was asked the same sequence of questions approximately 40 times, and my first week was only two days long. People would start by asking if I was a student, when I replied yes, they wanted to know where, when I told them, they asked what I was studying. As soon as the words public relations were out of my mouth the confusion would cross their face. The next question was almost always some variety of “what are you doing here?”
No, I do not have a press specific internship. I answer phones, I give tours, I go to briefings, I do what every other intern on the hill does. The difference is that the political science major taking notes on America’s Future in Asia is at that moment doing something relevant to his major. It’s a clearly made connection.
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Tagged Cassandra Carroll, Congress, DC, Internship vs. the Real World, March 2014, Spring 2014, The Hill
April 7th, 2014
in Spring 2014, Student's Blog, Washington, DC
By Anna West
Spring 2014
Politics are replete with high-octane, action verbs. You don’t submit a vote; rather you cast one, as if you were fishing on the high seas. You don’t just ring doorbells and post billboard ads; you campaign by waging political war against your opponent. And you certainly don’t walk for office, you run for it.
But in D.C. it’s evident that running takes on a literal meaning aside from the political realm. During lunch breaks, politicians actually run up and down Pennsylvania Ave. I see them bounce in place at streetlights, puffs of vapor escaping their breath in what has been the longest winter of subsequent polar vortexes. They battle relentlessly with the cold – gloves, hats and scarves, the fabrics of their armor.
Maura and I outside the ultimate Washington landmark.
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Tagged Anna West, Cold Weather, DC, Housre of Cards, Maura Monagan
