My winter inside the nation's capital

They say you can never be overdressed in Washington D.C. Eugene Alpert told students from all over the country who attended a seminar over the winter recess.

Alpert is the Vice President of the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars host of The Inside Washington Seminar. The seminar is a two-week event designed to enlighten university students about political issues affecting the country and the role of the media in the operations of the government.

What Alpert may have forgotten to mention was you’d also hear people talking about C-Span with the same passion that you hear from Californians talking about Donald Trump’s Apprentice show or "American Idol".

Politics makes people in Washington tick almost the same way entertainment makes us tick in California.

I got the feeling I was in a special place.

I bet you would have felt the same if you were in a seminar where the speakers included Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and John Miller, FBI assistant director in the officer of public affairs and former co-anchor of ABC 20/20. Miller interviewed Osama bin Laden less than two months before bin Laden engineered truck bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa killing almost 300 people and injuring thousands. President George Bush’s Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, also spoke; he is the man who whispered in the president’s ear that the country was under attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

Recounting the events of the historic moment, Card said the president reacted appropriately, unlike filmmaker Michael Moore’s portrayal of him as confused and indecisive in his documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Card said when the first plane struck the World Trade Center he informed the president there had been an accident because the first information they received gave the impression the crash involved a small plane.

When the second plane struck and they confirmed it and the first plane were jetliners Card knew he had to give the president a short and clear message.

“A second plane hit the second tower,” Card whispered in the president’s ears. “America is under attack.”

Ann Compton, ABC News White House correspondent, was covering the president on the day of the attacks said she was requested not to disclose her location or to call home. But she managed to call ABC News and informed them that she and the president were OK.

“My daughter asked me, ‘how come you can call Peter Jennings and tell him you’re OK and you can’t call home?’” Compton said.

The seminar included site visits to embassies including Israel, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and France among others.

In our free time, we visited monuments such as the Washington Monument and several museums including the Holocaust Museum, which is dedicated to the memory of those killed under Adolf Hitler NAZI government. Gory images and videos in the museum moved some visitors to tears while many observed the displays in a dirge-like silence.

We were able to attend the Supreme Court Senate Confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel Alito. I learned that sometimes you’re better off watching events on TV, I didn’t notice the significance of Alito’s wife crying from the seats reserved for the audience. It was interesting to be present when Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and Chairman of the Committee Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) had a charged exchange over Kennedy’s demands for a special session to discuss the allegations that Alito belonged to a student organization considered racist during his time at Princeton University.

Students can enjoy numerous opportunities offered by the Washington Center at an affordable price, the cost of a two-week seminar is about $1,800 and it includes registration and boarding. Students are currently signing up for internship opportunities, which include internships in the White House. The deadline to apply for summer internships is March 15. For details visit Washington Center Web site http://www.twc.edu/about_TWC.shtml

My trip was sponsored by The Collegian, MCJ Department, Provost Jeronima Echeverria and the Dean of Arts and Humanities Vida Samiian.

Elizabeth Leffall contributed to this column.

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