(See also the report from the 2008 program.)
Friday, July 31
Today marked the conclusion of the 2009 Washington Community of Scholars. After a brief farewell class, the students gathered for the closing ceremonies. There, they received their Certificates of Completion, marking their tremendous accomplishment in successfully completing the Washington Community of Scholars Program. They then enjoyed a slide-show of pictures from throughout the three weeks. After many good-byes, the scholars departed for home.
Thursday July 30th
In the morning, the students presented their final projects to their classes. Working either alone or in groups, the students conducted research analyzing a critical issue addressed by their class and developed a presentation on it. After the presentations, some of the classes relaxed by visiting the Smithsonian museums and the United States Botanic Garden.
Wednesday, July 29
Today was a busy academic day for the scholars as they prepared for the end of their program. Students in the Global Environmental Politics, Washington Insiders, Journalism, and Justice classes took final exams in the morning. The Diplomacy and Dictators class spent time in the computer lab researching and writing final policy briefs. The Worlds Apart, Worlds Together class visited the library to conduct research for final project presentations. In the afternoon, the scholars received an insider's perspective on college life at American University from a panel of AU undergrads. Leah, Catherine, and Erin shared their experiences from class, changing majors, conducting research, internships, and preparing to study abroad and answered students' questions about how to be successful in college.
Tuesday, July 28
The Justice, Journalism, and Washington Insiders classes took a field trip to the Crime and Punishment Museum and later participated in a Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) lab. The Global Environmental Politics class visited the library to conduct research for their final papers. The Diplomacy and Dictators class spent time in the computer lab conducting research and working on their policy briefs. Worlds Apart, Worlds Together participated in a mock United Nations Security Council simulation, where they debated the resolution on pressing global conflicts such as North Korea's nuclear program.
Monday, July 27
The Washington Insiders, Journalism, and Justice classes spent the day on Capitol Hill, where they visited Congress and the U.S. Capitol. There they were given a tour and had the opportunity to stop by their home district Representative's office. The Global Environmental Politics class visited the Common Good City Farm today, located in Washington DC's Shaw neighborhood. The students learned about urban food security issues and deepened their studies about the relationship between sustainable agriculture and environmental politics.
At the Capitol
Niko Welch and Carl Rollins, staff of the Common Good farm, showed students the orchard, youth garden, and numerous plants at the farm, while providing the basis for a rich discussion on the importance of gaining access to healthy, locally-grown food, especially in food deserts.
The Worlds Apart, Worlds Together class visited the U.S. Institute of Peace where they heard from Ted Feifer, of USIP's Education and Training Center about the work USIP does in conflict resolution worldwide. Diplomacy and Dictators visited the Millennium Challenge Corporation where Darius Teter, Deputy Vice-President for Compact Development told them about the United States' newest foreign aid institution.
Saturday/Sunday, July 25-26
On Saturday, all of the students participated in a Community Service day. One group visited the Capital Area Food Bank, which is the major source of food for over 300,000 hungry people in the Washington, DC area. The students bagged and packed a day's worth of food for over 1,800 children who do not have access to food on the weekends when they are not in school or daycare.
Another group went to the Little Light Urban Ministries where they supervised children in a Saturday drop-in program at Potomac Gardens housing project in Southeast D.C. Each of the students was paired with one child ranging in age from four to eleven years old. The students gave quality individual attention to these children through indoor and outdoor activities, including computer, board games, and kickball, and by conversing at lunch.
At Marvin Gaye Park
A third group of students assisted Washington Parks and People in rejuvenating Marvin Gaye Park in Northeast DC. The reclaimed park now serves hundreds of families living on its borders. The students helped clean the park and set up for a community festival that was held in the park later that day.
Friday, July 24
Friday was a fun time for the scholars. In the morning, Professor Kelley led his class to visit Search For Common Ground where the students saw one of the premier groups engaged in conflict resolution and heard from Susan Koscis, Director of Communications. Professor Bratman's class was visited by Larry Chang from Ecolocity. Chang talked about his organization's goal of reducing Washington, DC's carbon footprint. Detective Anthony Washington of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department's Narcotics Bureau visited Professor Siman, Bates, Heckel and Fabrikant's classes and talked about illegal drug use in the city and how the police work to combat it.
In the afternoon, the Scholars had a more relaxed time with their class. The Washington Insiders, Justice, and Journalism classes viewed the film Our America which informed a later discussion about poverty in the United States. The Diplomacy and Dictators class watched the classic film Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb which informed a discussion on nuclear weapons. Worlds Apart, Worlds Together played a rousing game of Capture the Flag, to demonstrate conflict and conflict resolution strategies in action!
Thursday, July 23
Professors Heckel and Fabrikant's U.S. Politics class visited Smithsonian where they toured the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian.
Professors Bates and Siman led the Journalism and Justice classes to the National Press Club where Gilbert Klein, former President of the NPC gave them a tour and participated in a discussion on the future of journalism. They attended the Pew Global Attitudes Project press conference with the Director of the Pew Charitable Trusts, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and former Senator and U.S. Representative to the United Nations John Danforth. They then had lunch at the 4th Estate - NPC's restaurant and lounge for the Washington Press Corps.
At the Canadian Embassy
Professor Rancatore led the U.S. Foreign Policy class to the Canadian Embassy for a discussion with Allen Brown, Counsellor in the Political Affairs Section, about relations between the United States and its close ally and neighbor.
Professor Kelley's Culture, Conflict, and Cooperation and Professor Bratman's Environmental Politics class visited the State Department where they were given a tour of the department's eighth floor diplomatic reception rooms. They then paid a quick visit to the Lincoln Memorial before lunch. In the afternoon, all three classes met at the State Department for a policy briefing on public diplomacy in Afghanistan from Brian George of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy, and Stephen Guice of the Office of Afghanistan Affairs, both in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. They then heard from a panel of State Department employees about careers at the State Department.
At the State Department
Three American University Alumni working in the department-Christina Leone of the Office of Children's Issues, Bureau of Consular Affairs; Maria Sisk of the Office of Aden, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; and Tom Canahuate, Post Management Officer, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs-were joined by Sara Revell, of the Operations Center and discussed how they came to work in the department and the ways they had made a difference to both individual citizens and U.S. diplomatic relations through their work at the State Department.
On the Washington Mall
Wednesday, July 22
The Environmental Politics class visited the Waterfront in Southwest Washington, D.C. where they learned about the environmental impact of redevelopment plans for the Waterfront district. The Justice, Journalism, and U.S. Politics classes participated in a debate on gun control policy. In the lively debate, the NRA was represented by Mr. Glen Caroline, Director of NRA Institute for Legislative Affairs, Grassroots Division, while the Sarah Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence was represented by Ms. Becca Knox, Director of Research. The Worlds Apart, Worlds Together class hosted Justine Fleischner of the Center for Strategic and International Studies who discussed the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project. The Diplomacy and Dictators class spent time in class discussing diplomats, diplomacy, and the way one becomes a policy expert. In the afternoon, both the Diplomacy and Dictators class and the Worlds Apart, Worlds together class participated in a workshop with David Fletcher of the American University Career Center, who told them about the internship, scholarship, and job opportunities available to them as they continue their studies.
Tuesday, July 21
Professors Heckel, Fabrikant, Siman, Bates, and Kelley led their students downtown to visit the Holocaust Museum. There they went on a tour of the museum, including the children's exhibit and the propaganda exhibit. Afterwards, they met with a Holocaust survivor named Fritz Gluckstein and heard his powerful story. Professor Bratman's class welcomed Connie Campbell of USAID. She spoke about her work protecting water and rainforests in the Amazon. Professor Rancatore's class went to the State Department for a tour of the diplomatic reception rooms.
Monday, July 20
Today the Justice, Journalism, and U.S. Politics classes visited the U.S. Supreme Court where they were given a tour and a lecture by Supreme Court Staff. They saw the courtroom where the high court has heard historic cases that have shaped the legal, political, and social history of the United States. They also visited the Library of Congress, visiting the famous reading room. Professor Bratman's Environmental Politics class listened to a lecture by Karen Milam from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on water safety and water security issues and later watched the film Silent Spring based on Rachel Carson's famous book. The U.S. Foreign Policy class spent time in the Anderson Computer Lab, where they worked on a policy analysis of options facing the international community during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Professor Kelley discussed tools to analyze conflicts and their role in conflict resolution.
In the afternoon, the Scholars attended a college admissions workshop, run by the AU Office of Admissions. Students were given a set of three fictional applications to a fictional university. In small groups facilitated by a member of the AU Admission Office, the students had to decide whether to admit, waitlist, or deny admission to the fictional students. Their discussions opened the college admissions process, so students could participate in the kinds of discussion that happen in an admissions committee. Afterward, Greg Grauman, Director of Admissions for AU, answered students' questions about the college admissions process.
Saturday/Sunday, July 18 and 19
After an exciting week of class, the Washington Community of Scholars spent the weekend relaxing and enjoying the sights and sounds of Washington. On Saturday, students chose Georgetown as the place they most wanted to visit, and spent an afternoon seeing the sights and shopping. That evening, the students threw a surprise birthday party for "Momma Bear" Karen, the resident director in honor of her birthday on Sunday.
Sunday was a spectacular day for a baseball game. The entire group took the Metro down to the new Washington National's stadium to see the Nats take on the Chicago Cubs. The stadium offered a panoramic view of downtown, with the Washington Monument and Library of Congress visible in the distance from section 230. Unfortunately, the hometown Nats fell to the Cubs 11-3, though the Cubs fan in the group was glad to see her team triumph.
Friday, July 17
Professor Kelley's class welcomed Ambassador Robert E. Gribbin as a guest speaker. Gribbin is a former ambassador to Rwanda and discussed the causes and prevention of genocide. Professor Bratman's class visited an exhibit on sustainable building design at the National Building Museum. Professors Siman and Bate's class enjoyed a lecture by guest speaker Detective Anthony Washington from the MPD Narcotics Bureau. Detective Washington gave a presentation about legal and illegal drug use in Washington, D.C. In the afternoon, the entire group participated in the Scholar Games, competing in charades, twister, passing the hoop, and the human knot events. The winning team, Four Floors, took home the first ever Scholar Games prize package!
Thursday, July 16
The Journalism, Justice, and Washington Insiders classes left early this morning to head downtown to the Newseum where they learned about the role of the media and free speech. They participated in a workshop about Supreme Court cases involving public school free speech. They also went on a tour of the museum where they saw various exhibits like: "MANHUNT: Chasing Lincoln's Killer." The Diplomacy and Dictators class visited the National Defense University, learning about the military and its role in U.S. foreign policy. The Worlds Apart, Worlds Together class spent time in class discussing the role of the environment in conflict while the Global Environmental Politics class visited the Bank Information Center, learning about the role of International Financial Institutions and how they take the environment into account in lending practices.
Wednesday, July 15th
The Washington Insiders students visited the Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial and the Lincoln memorial, learning the importance of these two Presidents. Professor Siman's class was joined by guest speaker, Detective James Trainum, Program Director of the Violent Crime Case Review Project for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. Detective Trainum discussed the Georgetown Starbucks Murder case which he helped to solve and went into detail about confessions and criminal profiling. Professor Rancatore's Diplomacy and Dictators class visited the National Archives to learn about the importance of constitutional principles in diplomacy. In the afternoon, students visited the University Library where reference librarian Clement Ho provided a workshop on how to do research using the electronic databases of scholarly articles and primary source material available through the library.
Tuesday, July 14
The Justice, Washington Insiders, and Journalism classes went on their first field trip today. Professors Heckel, Fabrikant, Siman, and Bates brought their students to the National Archives, where they saw the Constitution and learned about the historic documents that are the foundation for the American political system. Professor Kelley's Worlds Apart, Worlds Together class participated in a simulation in which they attempted to resolve a longstanding conflict between rival groups inhabiting a small island. Professor Bratman's Environmental Politics class visited the construction site of the new School of International Service building to learn about its innovative development as a Green Building. In the evening, the students participated in Game Night.
Monday, July 13
The Washington Community of Scholars started with an opening ceremony welcoming students. Washington Semester Dean David Brown and Program Director Peter Howard introduced everyone to the program. Students met the faculty, staff, and each other. After an introductory class, everyone met for lunch. In the afternoon, all students were given an orientation to American University's Campus where they received an AU student ID and learned how to use the resources provided by the university. The day ended with a barbeque dinner on the quad.