Seated on the steps outside of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. last week are nine Wrangell High School students. From left to right, in the back are Helen Decker, Jean-Luc Lewis, Ashley Allen, Kaylyn Easterly and Jacob Hammer; the next row is Abby Armstrong, Kellan Eagle, Tasha Massin and Abigail Gerald; while in front are Tiffany Merritt visiting with her mother, Sarah Merritt, who was the group's chaperone.
Wrangell high schoolers participating in this year's Close Up trip to Washington D.C. and New York City returned on Monday, after spending more than a week on the East Coast.
Taking off on the evening of April 21, nine students traveled with advisor Sarah Merritt to the nation's capital. The intent of the Close Up program is to educate young Americans on their political system, informing them of their rights and civic responsibilities in the process.
As with previous years, the trip is punctuated with sightseeing, getting to view many of the two cities' great landmarks and monuments. Merritt said one thing that was new this year was a moonlight monument tour of D.C. by trolley. Among the nighttime stops were the monuments to Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the Korean and Vietnam war memorials.
"They're all lit up," Merritt said. "It's a different perspective to see them at night than during the day."
The students also got to meet with their legislators on Capitol Hill, meeting with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young. They had the opportunity to speak with each on current topics relevant to Alaskans, such as climate change, gun control and sea otter management.
"Those were some of the things they touched on," said Merritt. "It went great."
Also new on this year's agenda was a tour of the J. Edgar Hoover Building, headquarters to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The group also visited the Holocaust Museum, one which Merritt includes on every year's itinerary.
Among the students' list of favorite places: In Washington Tasha Massin enjoyed the National Zoo, while in New York she liked Times Square the best; Kellan Eagle appreciated the FBI tour, while in New York it was Central Park; Kaylyn Easterly was a fan of the Smithsonian's American History Museum in Washington, while the top of the Rockefeller Center topped her list for things to do in New York; Jean-Luc Lewis couldn't pick a favorite between the different Smithsonian museums, and in New York enjoyed visiting Ellis Island, a waypoint for over 12 million immigrants during its 62-year run; Jacob Hammer enjoyed the moonlight monuments tour best in D.C., but in New York the ferry ride to Liberty Island was his favorite; Helen Decker's favorite aspects of the trip were not places, but atmospheric, she enjoyed engaging in the political discussions in Washington, and was struck by New York City's diversity; Abby Gerald most appreciated visiting the Holocaust Museum and New York's 9/11 Memorial; and for Ashley Allen, the U-Street District in northwestern Washington D.C. and Times Square were her highlights.
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