October 30, 2005
I know its been a while
everyone, but my life has been insanely crazy and busy
recently! I have so much to tell, but I don't even know
where to begin!!
In any case, I'll start with the cool stuff...I finally met
Luis Gutierrez this past week! If you don't know who he is,
he is the Representative for the 4th District of Chicago. He
was the first Hispanic elected to Congress from the Midwest
in 1992...check out his link...
http://luisgutierrez.house.gov/index.cfm.
Also, my professor just came up with a surprise for our
class that he had not told us just in case if fell through.
Apparently he has known Justice Scalia of the Supreme Court
for many years and he was able to clear some of his docket
to speak to my class!! I am really excited about it and
really glad that the Miers nomination did not interfere with
our schedule!! (selfish much, sure, but a once in a lifetime
opportunity!!)
Also, in the last couple of weeks I have gone to the
Heritage Foundation, the Urban Institute and the Cato
Institute to hear lectures on everything from welfare reform
and social security, to education and medicare! I really
love that I don't really have lectures from my professor,
but rather experts in the field that I am studying at the
moment.
I am also still working on the Dave Marsden campaign out in
Fairfax County, VA and the race is definitely really close!
As soon as my rough draft of my research paper is done, I am
definitely headed out there for GOTV efforts on election day
(Nov. 8th)!!
My internship is still also going very well and I am having
a great time with all of the interns there! We had a
fundraiser this past week, which was a lot of work, but a
lot of fun. Basically, we had the not so great jobs (I was
the official door greeter and money taker, how fun) that
someone had to take. Once all the money was collected, we
were allowed to go schmooze amongst the politicians,
supporters and 21st Century Democrat board members. There
were a few Congressman there and staffers from many of the
Senator's offices...yuuup, Hilary's staffer was there! :) It
was a lot of fun just getting to mingle among so many
people.
My roommate left on her Brazil trip today! I am now all
alone and sad because I have no one to talk to in my
room...well, except myself! lol...Any how, her class is
going to be backpacking through the Amazon, living in "favelas",
and sleeping in hammocks. Good luck to them while I sit in
my room without the nagging flies...writing my paper!!
Halloween should also be suuuper exciting!! We live on
Embassy Row here and we are a block down from a gazillion of
them! I hope they are ready for all of the college kids to
come knockin!! :) Oh, and what is better than my professor
giving us the day off!!
Well, speaking of those 60 pages I have yet to write....
email me everyone!!
Love,
Silv
October 1, 2005
Hey again everyone!
Another update....did I forget to mention that I love my RA?
Bryan Riley is amazing and I am fairly sure that I am his
favorite resident on the floor of like 60 people....that's
pretty good for me! :) I asked him if I could also put him
in a box so I could bring him back to Monmouth College....I
think he likes American though, whatcha gonna do! Katie
Noel, I still heart you the mostest!!! I don't know what I
am gonna do when you aren't my RA anymore for good!! I think
you should stay another year and keep me company!! lol
Anyway, fun things I have done you ask!? I met Hilary and
Bill Clinton's speech writer, Lisa Muscatine! She was an
awesome person to meet and she told our class the most
amazing things about working in the White House and with the
Clinton's that it sort of boggled my mind!
I also had a chance to meet Steve Schmidt, Counselor to the
Vice President, Dick Cheney at the Old Executive Office
Building. He also gave us awesome insight as to what it is
like to be one of the top three advisors to the VP.
There was also a journalist and author Brad Patterson, The
White House Staff. Luis Gutierrez, 4th district of Chicago,
had to reschedule, but I'll let you guys know how that goes!
I have been so crazy busy though, that I haven't had a
chance to go sightseeing again in a while. Hopefully,
though, I will do some more over Fall break, since there is
no way I am coming home for that, lol!
Also, I have made really good friends working on the Dave
Marsden campaign! I am volunteering (kind of, since my
internship actually sends me out there, but I asked to go)
on the most highly contested campaign in Virginia, in the
41st District for the open Delegate seat for the State
Assembly. If I understand correctly, there are only a
handful of state races going on in this off year, and most
are pretty contested. In Virginia, Governor Mark Warner is
leaving an open seat that is highly contested because he is
a Democrat and this Governorship is important to the party.
Who knows!? What I find most interesting about campaigning
out in Virginia is the fact that they have an amazing number
of student volunteers...high school student volunteers!
Turns out that they have a high school requirement that they
have to take a government class, and then in turn that class
makes them all volunteer on a campaign! That is a great
idea, in my opinion, but I don't know how well that would go
in Illinois! :)
Thanks to everyone who sent me some awesome birthday wishes!
I had a great time last Friday! :) And for those that asked,
things with the roommate are great! We get along really well
and I wish I could bring her back to MC too! :) I am
actually headed to Connecticut for Thanksgiving with her and
then we are going to explore New York (the first time for
me)!! Who thinks my going to NYC is going to be....at the
very least...interesting!??!
I loved the emails (especially yours, Ash!) send me mooooore!!!!
Silv
PS. I heart my RA!! ;)
September 20, 2005
Hey again, Everyone!!
I am not sure how much my enthusiasm will come across in a
small post, but I will certainly try!! (I have been told
that I write the way I speak) :)
So for those of you who know who Dick Durbin is (and I hope
you know), I did get the opportunity to meet him early this
morning. He is easily the most well spoken and concise
Democrats out there. He was very straightforward in his
answers, which was very refreshing. I have almost gotten
used to people alluding each question they are asked, for
fear of repercussion. He was only able to be with us for
half hour because as the Senate Minority Whip, he is a very
busy man. I was really just shocked at how personable he is
and I think that Illinois should be extremely proud to have
him as our Senator, regardless of party.
He also told us about he got into politics, and it ended up
being a very simple story. He was on the verge of graduation
form Georgetown University, here in DC, when he saw an ad
posted for an intern, preferably from Illinois (he is from I
believe the Springfield area). He replied and ended up being
chosen for an internship with former Senator Paul Simon of
Illinois. He eventually attended law school and was in
private practice for some time, making great money, when he
decided that he wanted to take a hefty pay cut and get into
public service. He lost a couple of races, but was
eventually voted into the House of Representative, and in
1996 into the Senate. He is now one of the most influential
Democrats in Congress. Moral of the story everyone,
internships are great and you never know where they can
lead!
Also, this week we went to meet with Dan Freeman, Counsel
and Parliamentarian of the House International Relations
Committee. He was by far the most amusing speaker yet. He
gave us an interesting lecture on how the legislature
realllly works, which was interesting to hear from an
insider perspective, particularly one who is not elected!
And for anyone that cares, his lawyer, probably about 5'9",
dark hair, blue eyes and in a great suit with a pink shirt!
I think I am in love! :)
Also, my class met with Judge Sequira, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Labor, Program Policy, Research and Technology.
He is also the former Chief of Counsel of the Senate Rules
Committee under Mitch McConnell (R-KY...for whom he also
interned when in college). He provided us a Republican view
(purely his own opinion, which he specified did not reflect
that of his employer or previous employer) about the
Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (aka:
McCain-Feingold Act).
How could I forget that
JIMMY CARTER was on campus yesterday! That was amazing! He
is such a cute little man that I just wanted to put him in a
box and put him on my shelf! He gave a great speech on
electoral reform. The arena was soo crowded! There had to
have been at least 2000 people there! He was welcomed
overwhelmingly by the AU community. In fact, there are
several fundraisers going on right now, the money of which
will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. Such a cute old
man!!
Lastly, today I also went to hear a speech by Ilona Nickles,
Political Consultant at Indiana University. She has
previously served as the Resident Congressional Scholar for
C-Span and her lecture topic was about how bills do and do
not become laws. It was also a very interesting perspective,
as she has never held public office, but did spend a lot of
time on the Hill.
On a more fun note though, my 21st birthday is on Friday and
I am super excited about it!! :) I also decided that I am
going to make my first trip up to the northeast to
Connecticut for Thanksgiving, instead of coming home! Also,
I think I may be staying out here again this summer
(hopefully) because I found an internship that pays $450 per
week, in addition to paying for housing and round trip
transportation to DC!! Wish me luck as I apply and I will
keep y'all updated (yuup, I definitely made a good friend
from Dallas and I now am starting to pick up her accent!!)
Send me email everyone, I would love to know what is going
on at MC!!
Best,
Silv
September 13, 2005
As much as I enjoy getting
up early, today was a bit early for my liking. I got up
today at 5:30AM to wait in line to sit in at the open Senate
confirmation hearing for Judge John Roberts for Chief
Justice. We got there at about 7:15 AM and sat in line for a
little while. They were very prepared to have a large
turnout and we were assigned numbered tickets. While we were
waiting in line, there was a Pro-Life group behind us that
we had a long, interesting talk with. They had all of the
posters that we see on TV, but they were informed by the
police that they could not hold them while actually standing
in line, so someone had to step out of line and hold them.
On the opposite side of the street were the actual
Pro-Choice protesters.
We were ushered into Russell Senate building and then into
the committee room. We were there long enough to listen to
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Senator Patrick Leahy
(D-VT). Each member of the standing Senate Judiciary
Committee was allowed half hour of questioning. I was super
excited, though, that I got to see Senator Dick Durbin
(D-IL) and Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)! I might have easily
been "that girl" who really excited.
I was also telling a friend from MC that I didn't have to
twist anyone's arms to get up that early and come with me. I
actually had friends who volunteered to come along! I was
required to attend a hearing sometime throughout the
semester and I figured why not get up early attend what
might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to sit at a
confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court Chief Justice. In
fact, by comparison to some of my friends here, I think I
might be the "cool girl"...and for those of you that know
me...well, what does that say?? I made some super fun nerdy
friends!! :)
Also, I am really excited because my class is headed up to
Capitol Hill to meet with Senator Paul Ryan (R-WI). He will
be speaking to my class about the Congressional experience,
Republican style. He was elected in 1998 and sits on the
Ways and Means committee. Next week we will also be headed
up to meet Dick Durbin and Representative Luis Gutierrez
(D-IL) from Chicago.
I guess I should also mention that I met the main media
consultant for the Gore campaign yesterday, Tad Devine of
SDD Media. This is the most prestigious Democratic firm and
he has produced ads for John Kerry, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy,
Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Tom Harkin and Dick
Gephardt, to name a few. In addition, he also does work
internationally, including the 2002 Israeli elections and
currently the Honduran election.
Meeting these amazing people might be the best part of the
program! I'll try to keep you posted on more!! Okay, well
here I go working on a campaign plan to get Russ Feingold
(D-WI) elected in 2008. Talk about a lot of work!!
Best,
Silvia
September 12, 2005
Hey again everyone!
Well, things are finally on the ball here! I started my
internship already with a Political Action Committee called
21st Century Democrats
http://www.21stcenturydems.org. It is committed to
promoting the values of progressive Democrats and focus on
grassroots campaigning. I have already put together a
volunteer recruitment program and now it is my
responsibility to travel to other college campuses and
whatever other means I think of to execute my goal of
contacting 20 people per day and actually signing up 2
volunteers. In addition, I am also doing a lot of candidate
research for all of the 2006 midterm elections that they
might be interested in endorsing and providing money to. At
the moment, I am focusing on Ohio and New York and then I
will move forward. It is a lot of work for being there only
on Thursdays and Fridays, but it is great experience and I
am becoming familiar with many resources. I lucked out too,
I am getting paid (don't get excited, it is only $25 per
day). But at least that covers my Metro (subway) expenses
and food (which is outrageously expensive out here)!
I am at this very moment seeking the title of spending the
most time at the library, since I am working on my research
paper. My professor is working very closely with the 10 of
us that opted to write the research paper rather than take
the elective and he has us on pretty tight deadlines. He
expects my paper to be about 75 pages (wish me luck)!!
Again, I lucked out and got the toughest professor, but it
should in the end be worth it because he is also an amazing
professor.
Surely everyone is wondering what the social life is like
out here....everyone is amazing, so I try not to confine
myself to one group of people. I have met people from all
over! Actually, we even just had about 30 kids move in from
Tulane U down in Louisiana. They are coping with the
situation pretty well and we are glad to have them here with
us! Also, the sightseeing is amazing!! I had never been out
here before, so going out is a huge priority for me and we
have already visited several of the larger monuments.
Speaking of deadlines, well, I am in the library now and
working on the ever long outline for this paper of mine and
I should get back to work! I think my eyeballs might fall
out of my face rather soon! If anyone wants to see some
pictures, just email me and I can send you a link to my
pictures that are posted online!
Silvia
August 31, 2005
Well, it has now been a
little over one week since I arrived in DC! It is an amazing
city...which I became acquainted with a little sooner than I
would have liked. I flew from Chicago O'Hare to Dulles
(Reagan) airport with Dan Bliss
and it seemed like a better idea to take the Metro subway
system because it was only $2.35 to ride, as opposed to
taking a cab. So let me tell you, it was a sightseeing
pleasure (note sarcasm). Surprisingly, we were able to
switch lines and made it to our final stop okay. However, we
jumped onto the American University Shuttle bus (clearly
this campus is slightly larger than that of Monmouth
College) and it missed our stop. Luckily, there were some
American University students from the Main campus on the bus
who directed us to get off and make the walk, as it was only
a couple of blocks. Okay, couple of blocks, no biggie,
right? Turns out it was half a mile, in addition to getting
lost for several more blocks, and carrying luggage (two
suitcases, laptop, and a backpack). Needless to say, we
eventually made, but the first thing on the agenda was a
shower! Sidenote: I was telling some girls about this and
one replied that she had seen me walking across the lawn
with my hot pink luggage (yes, it really is hot pink...I
cant say I have to worry about accidentally taking someone
else's luggage!)
Anyhow, Dan's blog summed it up pretty good where we take a
seminar, have a lot of guest speakers and an internship. I
actually did not wait until I got here to decide on one, I
sent my resume to several places over the summer and landed
a paid internship! It only pays $25 per day and I only work
on Thursdays and Fridays, but it's something to at least
cover my food and transportation costs. :) Most people don’t
even get that. I start tomorrow and it is with a Political
Action Committee called 21st Century Democrats, which
focuses on grassroots campaigning techniques and
organization. I will actually be headed out to Virginia each
week to mobilize a campaign staff and a volunteer
organization to work on one of the campaigns going on out
there. *yup, there are only 5 states which have off year
elections and Virginia is one of them* I am super excited
about it! And there is also a guy from Lake Forest College
that will be working with me!
Unlike Dan, however, I decided to write an extensive
research paper instead of taking the elective class. I am
going to be looking at the implications of race based
Affirmative Action in the higher education system. Luckily,
I have all semester to work on this 60-75 page paper!
Eek…now here I thought Ira and Farhat were tough on us!!
Guess I won’t be taking those 15 page papers for granted
anymore!
My roommate is awesome! Her name is Marla and she is from
Connecticut and goes to Trinity College New Haven. She is a
self proclaimed Tree Hugger and took an internship with the
EPA. We get along great and it should be an awesome
semester! Speaking of roommates, Dan’s German roommates are
amazing! Not only are they super intelligent…they are great
looking! I think I am in love! LOL! The dorms are co-ed and
the boys that live across the hall are …well…something else.
One is from New Jersey (amazing accent that takes time to
decipher) and the other from Georgia! Adjusting to walking
down the hall to the community showers…rough after having
lived in Bowers this past year (and hopefully second
semester this year)!! Oh yes, and I can’t forget to let you
all know that there are 3 Knox kids in my seminar…they are
super nice!
The most captivating part
of being here is the fact I have so much in common with the
other students. It is completely normal for us to be
watching a movie and all of a sudden break out into a
political discourse and everyone is absolutely into it (haha,
given that my “roommates” at MC laugh at me whenever I say
something political). I am awed at the intelligent people
here and I hope to learn a lot from them because they all
have completely different backgrounds, coming from all
around the country and the world.
Anyhow, I’ll cut it short
here and keep you update on my adventures in DC!!
**As much as I love it here…I miss MC and I hope to hear
from you all soon!**
Best,
Silv
