Nationals Baseball Game!

Our class decided to go to a Nationals baseball game together. We met at Union Station then went over to a classmate’s WISH house before the game. We stayed there for a few hours to get ready, and then we headed out!

It was very easy to get to the stadium and did not take long at all. The Nationals played the Phillies, so we were hoping it would be a close game. It was even more exciting for some of our classmates because they are serious Phillies fans. Surprisingly, many of the people in attendance were Phillies fans.

When we got there, we had to get a hot dog. You don’t get the full experience of a baseball game unless you try a stadium hot dog. It definitely did not disappoint! When we got to our seats we realized they were great as well. We all got to sit together and had a great view of the players. Unfortunately, the Nationals did not play too well and ended up losing to the Phillies. The score was 4-0. Even though they lost, it was definitely worth going to. The tickers were cheap and we had a great time going. It was a great opportunity to bond as a class. If we have more time before we have to leave, I would love going to another game. We have many class outings planned, so it should be an exciting last few weeks!

Secretary of Transportation- Ray LaHood

We had another great week of speakers! This week we had the honor of meeting the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood. He was a great speaker that dedicated a significant amount of time out of his schedule to talk to us. He spent forty-five minutes answering our questions. Yes, I know forty five minutes does not seem like a lot of time, but for a person of his importance, it is rare to have this amount of time to spare.

Ray LaHood walked in with a group of people, introduced himself, and then asked what questions we had. He was concerned with our interests rather than lecturing us on issues that we may not be as concerned with. This was a great opportunity for everyone to ask a question. Our whole class was able to ask him questions, and some asked more than one!

Many of the questions asked were about the Department of Transportation’s mission and what projects they were working on. He spoke about the distracted drivers project, that is working to eliminate accidents due to distractions while driving. The use of cell phones is a big concern of the Department of Transportation. Recently, they have been conducting experiments in certain cities where police officers sit on corners and catch drivers on their phones. They heavily ticketed people for about a week, and as a result people stopped using their phones while driving. They believe laws that limit phone use can be successful if they are heavily enforced. This was also proven with the Click-it-or-Ticket program that was implements years ago. As a result of heavy enforcement, most people use their seat belts.

Another topic he spoke about was building high speed rails in the United States. This was very interesting because the plan is to have high speed rail available to eighty percent of the population. This project will cost billions of dollars and will take many years. I am curious how this will be funded considering many projects are losing funding because of budget cuts and the country’s debt. It will be interesting to see if the Department of Transportation’s plans are successful.

Cherry Blossom Parade

This weekend was a great weekend to explore more of D.C. On Friday, some friends from class and I went to a seafood restaurant at The Fishermen’s Warf. This restaurant was so nice. It was on the water overlooking the river and the docked boats. It would have been a great place to go if it was warmer because they had a deck where we could have sat to enjoy the view. There are many restaurants that overlook the river throughout the city. Before I have to leave, I will hopefully be able to go to one and enjoy the beautiful scenery and the warm weather.

Today was the annual Cherry Blossom Parade near The Mall. My friends and I were so excited to go watch it because we heard how great it is every year. This festival draws in over a million tourists every spring, so we knew the parade had to be extravagant. When we got there, the crowds were lining the streets. It was difficult to find an open spot on the side of the road, but luckily we squeezed ourselves in to get a good view.

I never really attend parades except for local smaller parades such as the one for St. Patrick’s Day. So, it was interesting to get the opportunity to see such a popular parade that draws tourists from all over the country. The parade included the winners of the Cherry Blossom Festival Pageant, Miss Rodeo, a former American Idol finalist, and many people from local institutions. Some of my favorite marchers were the unicyclists. I would never have the coordination that they do to ride a unicycle. I give them much credit for riding throughout the entire parade. Another group of marchers that I liked were the Japanese dancers and drummers. It was nice to get the Japanese cultural experience that is associated with the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival. They wore ornate clothing and played interesting cultural music. It was a cultural learning experience to watch the parade and to appreciate why the festival even occurs. Hopefully next year I can take a trip to D.C. to see it again!

Last Few Weeks for the Research Paper

Because the semester is coming to an end, it means that the research paper will be due soon. For many of us, this is a scary thought! We have worked so hard all semester to ensure that we do a good job on it. Right now, I am working on the analysis and conclusion aspect of my paper. This part has been very difficult and I am nervous that I will not write it thorough enough.

The analysis and conclusion are so difficult because you have to rely on the interviews you have conducted with people knowledgeable on the subject area. Once you connect with these people and they are willing to speak with you, it is not too difficult to interview them and get the necessary information for the analysis. But, it is the contacting part of the interview that is hard to achieve. Many of these people have busy work schedules that often conflict with our schedules for the Washington Semester Program seminars and our internships. The seminars and my internship consume much of my day from the early morning to sometimes 5:00pm. Therefore, it is difficult to set these meeting times. Even if we do have spare moments in our schedules, some of these people are unwilling to speak to us. I have noticed this with my topic because it includes information that is considered confidential for many police departments. Many are hesitant to discuss reforms they have implemented and how they feel about the system.

I spoke to a teacher here at American University who was very helpful and provided me with relevant information on my topic. He has written a book on the subject I am studying, so it was helpful that he had done much research himself. It was even more beneficial because he provided me with additional sources to read to learn more. This part of the analysis should be a solid inclusion to my paper. This weekend I will spend most of my time writing the paper, so I hope the weather is not too nice where I feel like I am missing out on a great adventure throughout D.C.!

Our class was required to attend another hearing this week. I chose to observe a House hearing for the Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. This was a hearing to discuss the status of the beef industry. The Members of Congress wanted to know what legislation is working and what is not. Specifically, what regulations should be addressed and what programs are benefiting the beef industry. At first I was unsure whether I would be interested in this hearing, but I decided to attend it anyway because it was different from the others I observed. I had little knowledge how the beef industry worked and how complicated the process is to produce beef for us consumers. After attending this hearing, I had a better understanding of the hard work and delicacy this process needs to run.

Even though I thought this hearing would not be relevant to the topics we discussed, it proved to be very relevant. A large discussion of our semester focused on regulations and how they greatly affect our country. Our professor discussed how these agencies theoretically have more power than the other branches because they are basically unchecked and unelected by the people. The agencies pass thousands of rules in a year, while Congress passes much less. These rules dictate many operations such as the beef industry. According to the witnesses present, these agencies have put a significant burden and threat to their businesses. Many of these rules are passed without basis and knowledge of the true situation at hand. An Environmental Protection Agency inspector went to inspect one of the witness’ ranch and stated that he had never been so close to a cow before. He had little knowledge of how a ranch operated and what was necessary for healthy cattle feeding. The very agencies that regulate farms such as these should be educated on how they actually operate. This will ensure that the most beneficial rules are passed. It was shocking to see how influential the regulatory system is on the beef industry. From the knowledge I gained at this hearing, I hope that appropriate measures can be taken to ensure the prosperity of this industry. I was glad to attend this hearing to realize that the topics we study in class extend to many areas that I would not expect.

Speaking with a Supreme Court Justice

-The podium where Justice Alito stood to speak to us.

-Public Law Class 2011- Me standing right next to him!

This week we had the honor of meeting Supreme Court Justice Alito. It was an event that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life.

I was so lucky because I was able to sit in the first row right in front of Justice Alito. When he walked in, we were instructed to remain standing until he sat down and that we could not take pictures while he spoke. The security guards took these instructions very seriously because we were told more than once how to act in his presence. They really ensure that these judges receive the highest level of respect.

I was surprised how down to earth Justice Alito was. This man is an extremely intelligent person who graduated from Yale Law School and was the editor of Yale’s Law Review Journal. Even though he is intelligently superior to most and holds a prestigious job, he was truly interested in our questions and about teaching us about the justice system. He told us about the cases the Supreme Court has heard in the past few weeks. Many of them we have heard about in the news or have studied in class. It was a unique opportunity to be in his presence while such important decisions are being made. He even spoke to us about the recent case involving the Westboro Baptist Church and their right to picket soldiers’ funerals. In this case, he was the only Justice to dissent. He stated that a funeral is fragile time of mourning and that while he believes in the right of free speech, it is not the right time or place to protest. It has been said that he relies on his emotions for some of his decisions. I believe this is a case where he took this into consideration when he decided to dissent.

The question I asked him was how he deals with pressure from his family, friends, and those that surround him when his opinions vary from theirs’ on certain cases. I was wondering how he separates his personal life from his job as a Supreme Court Justice. He stated that there are many safeguards that protect his job even when he makes controversial decisions. There are times when his opinions vary from those around him, but he feels it is his job to uphold the law no matter the circumstances. He stated that it is difficult at times, but essentially it’s his job and he has to do it as best as he can. I was honored to have this experience of speaking to him. Nowhere else would I get the opportunity to be in the same room as a Supreme Court Justice, not alone be able to speak to him. This was truly the best experience I could have asked for here in Washington, D.C. and reaffirms by beliefs on how great the Washington Semester Program has been. I am going to be very sad when I have to leave.

Interesting Hearings...

The hearings I observed today were some of the most interesting ones I have attended thus far. One was about a child who was extremely burned, and another was on a teenager who had not taken her psychotic medications for a month. These situations were more intense than many of the other hearings I have attended. The burn case was particularly interesting because it was not the mother who was responsible for the child being burned. The case was taken into CFSA because the mother had reportedly left her child with a neighbor’s daughter for a few days. It was particularly interesting because CFSA did not have a strong case of neglect against the mother, but they still won. They accused this incident as neglect because the mother had left her child with a caretaker that she did not know well enough. She did not know her last name or her address. But, she had left the baby at this person’s house before and he always returned home safely so she felt the person was responsible. One day, the child returned home with extreme burns on his back. According to Tobey, the child had lost all his skin on his back. I was disgusted hearing this because I could only imagine how gruesome this must look and how much pain the baby must be in. At the hearing I could tell the mother loved her son very much and was extremely concerned about getting him placed home again. Even though the mother should have had better judgment about her choice of babysitters, I hope the child returns home soon. The other case was about a teenage girl who has compulsive violence issues. She takes medication to control her moods, and it had been working very well for her. According to some members at the hearing, the child ran out of medicine a month ago and was repeatedly asking that someone fill the prescription for her. The social worker apparently did not take care of this situation for her, and she went a month without receiving her medicine. During that month, she had two violent encounters with her boyfriend. The first encounter, she told the boyfriend to leave the shelter where she is staying. He refused, so she got mad and grabbed a kitchen counter knife to stab him in the eye. She said she would have stabbed him, but he grabbed the knife out of her hands as it was approaching his face. Obviously, this potentially could have been a serious incident where she could have faced criminal charges and jail time if she did stab him. In the second incident, the boyfriend was making her mad, so she punched him in his face. She split open his face and broke her finger as a result of this. When the judge heard about this she became extremely concerned as to why no one attended to getting the medicine sooner. She asked the family and the daughter to step out of the room. Once they were out, she proceeded to scold CFSA, the social worker, and the other members for not being responsible. She said if she ever hears of another incident where a child does not get their medicine when they need it, she will be very mad. I agree especially because the child potentially could have killed or seriously injured him. These psychotic medicines need to be regulated and used properly. It is a miracle that no one was hurt from her actions. The social workers should always be aware and attentive to issues such as this.