By Samuel Rubenfeld
WASHINGTON – While some students spent St. Patrick’s Day weekend at the bar, University students and faculty from the political science department met with public officials, alumni and others as part of an annual field trip to the nation’s capital.
The trip takes place over four days and involves meeting with multiple officials involved in government and public policy, as well as interest groups. On Monday night, students met with University alumni and current interns in a conference to explain the “Semester in Washington” program.
“We can say that not a few, in fact many, students were inspired to make a career in Washington based on this trip,” Rosanna Perotti, the director of the trip, said.
According to Perotti, the annual Washington trip began in the early 1960s, when Howard Ball, a former University professor and Supreme Court scholar, organized an interview for students with Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black.
Professor Emeritus Herbert Rosenbaum continued organizing the trip every year, and in doing so, inspired students such as alumnus Phil Schiliro, who has worked as a staffer for Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) for the last 25 years.
Rosenbaum attends the trip every year, despite his retirement from the University in 1992.
Over time, the number of appointments grew. This year, there were seven meetings, including appointments with a congressman from Illinois, an anti-global warming group and staffers at the Office of Management and Budget. Students also met with University alumnus, William Bodde, a career diplomat and former ambassador to Micronesia.
“We get the access from interns and alumni of the University,” Perotti said. “Sometimes we call out of the blue.”
The Semester in Washington internship is an unpaid program run by the State University of New York at Brockport. It offers students the opportunity to work four days per week in a Washington office while taking a class once a week and writing a research paper related to their experience. The interns come from schools all over New York state, and the University is a partner in the program.
Students can intern at any of the three branches of government, an interest group, research institute or non-government organization. University students and alumni that have participated include a law professor, lobbyists and staffers on Capitol Hill.
One current student is spending this semester interning for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in her Senate office. Another is interning for Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.), who met with the students.
Students overwhelmingly enjoyed the experience of being in Washington. Amanda Scheffer, a sophomore, said, “This trip has put the idea of working in politics in my heart again. The professors have inspired me.”
Politics were not the only benefit to the trip, according to Chris Pergola, a junior. “Not only do you get to witness and experience things tourists would not normally see in Washington, you get to meet students and make friends at the University you might not otherwise have done,” he said.