Trip

Students couldn’t have ‘asked for a better trip’

By CARRIE HEATON
Learning Community member

From the very beginning, the trip sounded like it was going to be great. Rumors were flying that we were going to the Newseum, USA TODAY and just about anything else we could fit into the short amount of time we had in Washington, D.C.

Once the schedule was set, we thought that it looked kind of bare. Little did we know the five days would be filled to capacity.

After a few minor crises — like people being booked on the wrong planes — we were off. Once we all had retrieved our luggage in Washington, we got to take our first trip aboard the Metro system, the primary means of transportation for our stay. By the time the trip ended, we had all become experts on riding the Metro.

We spent the first day wandering around Georgetown. It was a short walk from our hotel, so it provided a nice place to start the trip. I noticed the difference in the atmosphere. Everybody we saw was in a hurry, and they didn’t seem to be used to our Midwestern “niceness.”

Newseum

The next day we went to one of my favorite places on the trip, the Newseum. The Newseum features a time-line of the history of news. It includes pictures of important people in the media world, funny stories and examples of newspapers. I often don’t like museums much, but I could have spent hours just on the time-line. The line ended with three televisions that played a continuous film of the top stories of the 1980s and the ’90s, things like the Challenger exploding, Princess Diana’s death and many more.

We also enjoyed the interactive stations at the Newseum that allow visitors to play the role of different people in the media. I played the role of a photographer, trying to get the best shot possible. I think I might have found my calling right there. The computer told me I catch the emotion well. Hey, it could happen!

The rest of the day we spent at the U.S. Capitol with two graduates from NU who now work for Nebraska congressmen. I learned a lot about opportunities to work in D.C.

We spent the evening at the Kennedy Center watching a play called “Sheer Madness.” Erin Donovan and I talked to a few of the actors at intermission and got NU mentioned during the second act. It was really neat.

History lesson

Sunday was our American history day. We toured the memorials and explored different parts of the city. Going to places like the Arlington Cemetery and the Korean War Memorial gave me a sense of what our country has gone through and how little my generation has really experienced. The day was long, and many of us needed naps by late afternoon. I don’t think we really realized how tired we were until that point.

Monday morning also was a history lesson, but not American this time. We spent the morning at the Holocaust Museum. The feeling you get there is indescribable. The building was built to give you the feeling of what concentration camps were like. I have never seen a place that had so many artifacts and told the history so bluntly.

In history classes we are taught the story of the United States’ role in World War II. The museum, however, tells a different story: people’s suffering and what really happened in Nazi Germany.

One exhibit is a train car that was actually used to transport people to the concentration. It had a smell to it that made me sick to my stomach. The camps smell of the people who were jammed into the small space was still there after all these years.

Another room in the museum is full of shoes that were found at concentration camps.

The worst thing, though, is a hallway of pictures. They cover two stories, so you have to pass through the display twice. The pictures are of Jewish families that were destroyed by the war. They make the whole war seem personal. When I looked at them, I was hit by a feeling of devastation.

Newsroom tour

Later that day we switched gears completely and went to USA TODAY’s office for a tour. I was delighted to get to see the newsroom of a paper that I read quite often.

After our tour, we met with political writer Richard Benadetto. We discussed the impeachment trial and the State of the Union Address with him. And we got to find out what was going to be in the paper the next day.

Our last day started with a tour of the White House. Then the group split up because we all wanted to do different things. I went with six others to the Senate impeachment trial. The White House lawyers were going to be giving their opening statements that day, and we wanted to see history in the making.

We stood in line for three hours waiting to get in. It was worth it, though. Not only did we get to see the first 20 minutes of the White House’s opening statements, but we got to see Charles Gibson and Whoopi Goldberg. Our trip was complete after that. The only thing we wanted was more time in the city.

I think everyone benefited from the trip. It helped me come a little closer to deciding what I want to do with my life. I also got to see things in Washington, D.C., that others will never get the chance to see. I don’t think I could have asked for a better trip.

All photos courtesy Professor Jerry Renaud.