Four Months in DC: My Front Row Seat to History

in Current Semester, Spring 2017, Student's Blog
May 10th, 2017

by Nick Neville (Spring 2017) 

When I first arrived in Washington this January, politics wasn’t really my thing. My friends in the BU D.C. program would be shocked to hear me say that, but it’s true. I was the sports guy, having just served as sports editor of the Daily Free Press, BU’s independent student newspaper. However, a semester living, learning, observing and growing in our nation’s capital has fundamentally changed my career path and the way that I look at the world.

I came here originally with the greater purpose of broadening my perspective as a reporter, but didn’t realize just how immersed I would become in the fabric of D.C.’s day to day happenings. It started on one of the first weekends of the program when I attended and reported on an Inauguration Day marijuana legalization protest. I was already planning on attending the inauguration – it’s history, right? – but this gave me a unique look at the day’s events. People from all across the political and cultural spectrum had come together for a common purpose, and whether or not you agreed with their ideas, it really didn’t matter. Because as I learned time and again this semester, these people had the First Amendment right to express their views, and demonstrations like this were a common theme throughout the next four months.

In fact, literally the next day an even bigger demonstration erupted right in our backyard: the Women’s March. While I wasn’t reporting that day, I observed, taking in the sheer numbers that flocked to D.C. for this occasion. Young or old, black or white, rich or poor – people of all races and creeds marched down Pennsylvania Ave. literally as far as the eye could see. It was an astounding display of organization, almost unprecedented, as women all across the world stood in solidarity to defend their right to choose.

 

For my beat reporting class, I chose to cover “the first 100 days of the Trump presidency.” This seemed like an incredibly daunting task at first, and while I didn’t have the access of a Bob Costa who gets personal phone calls from the president, I was able talk to players and people who were affected by many of the decisions that President Trump was making.

For my first story, I went to GW for a health care debate between two people on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, Senators Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz. With a new GOP bill to repeal and replace Obamacare circulating once again, I am reminded of two stories from that night: one from Neosho Ponder, who feared she wouldn’t be able to receive coverage without the preexisting condition protection of Obamacare, and Melissa Borkowski, who believed she may have an undiagnosed cancer because her health care premiums are too high and she cannot afford insurance. I had little health care knowledge before the event, and through observing and talking to people after the event, it opened my eyes to how personal health care is.

Other stories took me to Capitol Hill, where I asked D.C. residents and tourists how the hyper-partisanship era is affecting our politics and civic life in light of recent Congressional town halls. I even got the chance to shadow Matt Laslo of the Daily Beast, who spoke to our internship class twice, shedding light on the Trump presidency. That day, I got an up-close look at how the Senate operates, and had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a few senators about now Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in the midst of his confirmation hearing. Once again, my experiences covering politics in D.C. gave me a new perspective; this time, it was realizing the far-reaching effects of Trump’s appointment to the Supreme Court, which will impact important judicial decisions for a generation.

For my final two stories, I talked to experts. If there’s one thing I learned in D.C., it’s that there’s an expert here on almost any topic. The environment, history, media – you name it. I first spoke with Dr. Robert Orrtung, Associate Research Professor of International Affairs at GW, about the severity of Russian active measures, which many believe go beyond the 2016 election. Later, in what was a landmark day for me, I sat down with legendary journalist Marvin Kalb to assess Trump’s first 100 days and discuss the future of the press.

 

All of these stories and events, as well as Dave Shaw’s government and the media course, have contributed to my greater understanding of the political scene in Washington and to my newfound passion for the news. My internship also helped immensely, as my time with “Meet the Press,” the longest-running show on television, taught me the importance of public affairs programs like this. Visits to the Newseum and all the Smithsonians, particularly the new National Museum of African American History, also helped me realize that history is being made and each and every day in our nation’s capital. I’m just happy to have observed it first-hand for the past four months.

 

Nick is a junior journalism major and political science minor interning with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He is looking to pursue a career where he can continue to tell stories through a variety ways in the constantly evolving media landscape.