We decided to start our last day with one more walk up Capitol Hill to try to visit the Supreme Court again.
We got in line at 815, and this time it worked - we got in! The security process took about an hour and after some more waiting, we got to hear the case, Nvidia v. Ohman. The subject matter of the case was a bit dry (required specificity of document descriptions...) but it was fascinating to see the Court in action.
After, we went back to hotel to grab our bags and check out. We took the Metro to DCA to check our bags, then went back to the Pentagon for a tour. This was a very entertaining visit led by junior officers from several branches that taught us about various facts about the building, highlighted by a visit to a memorial for victims of the 9/11 attack there.
After grabbing a late lunch in Crystal City, we went to the airport for for our flight home.
We bused back to the Cape and were home before 10! What a fabulous trip with a wonderful group of fellow adventurers!
We started the day by trying to get into the Supreme Court for oral arguments. We walked up Capitol Hill, got in line around 830, and soon after they handed out some tickets but not enough for us to get in.
We waited a bit longer - it became clear that the only chance was to get in for the second case and that would take a few hours. So we went next door to the Library of Congress where there were some great exhibits.
We then walked down to the White House for our noon tour. After a long security line we got to walk through the executive mansion.
Next we took a bus back to the Capitol for lunch at the Senate Cafeteria, and then a Capitol tour with Monomoy alum Grace Fernandez, including a visit to the Senate chamber.
Following the tour, Grace arranged for us to have a sit down with her boss, Sen. Markey, who regaled us with stories of growing up as the son of a milkman in Malden.
We then finished the day with a men's basketball game at George Washington University - the Revs won!
After one more Metro ride we got back for one more night at the Holiday Inn.
Happy Veterans Day! We left the hotel at 830 to head to Arlington National Cemetery. This year, we were early enough to get into the ceremony at the Memorial Amphitheater.
It was bright and warm and after some entertainment from the Marine Corps band, Pres. Biden arrived and gave a typically personal address for the occasion, remember his son Beau's service.
After waiting for the motorcade to clear, we got to watch as the veterans service organizations who organize the annual ceremony laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
We next headed over to the Kennedy graves where we read some speeches carved into the memorials and contemplated their legacies.
We walked over to the Marine Corps Memorial where some high school bands were playing for the occasion.
After a walk to Rosslyn and a Metro ride, we got a late lunch at some food trucks, then some went back to the hotel for a bit while a few of us spent time in the American History Museum. We decided to do our walking monument tour before dinner and started with the Washington Monument.
Next was the World War II Memorial.
From there we walked to the MLK Memorial.
Next to that was the FDR Memorial.
And then to the Korea, Vietnam and Lincoln Memorials.
Then we look a (long) walk to dinner at Busboys and Poets (we walked instead of taking the Metro because we wanted to see the White House at night, but with construction started for the Inaugural, we couldn't really see it). After an excellent dinner, we finally took the Metro back to the hotel and crashed with our pedometers registering a day of 29,000 steps and 19 miles of walking.
MRHSAPGovDC24 started with a 4am departure from school in order to catch a 7am JetBlue flight from Logan to DCA.
The flight was smooth and on time. We got our bags and figured out the SmartTrip app in our AppleWallets to get on the Metro, arriving at L'Enfant Plaza station (exit A) and taking the short walk to Holiday Inn Capitol Hill.
After dropping our bags (and a quick change), we got to the Air and Space Museum right at 10 and enjoyed the exhibits (some of it still under renovation).
From there we walked down the the NMAAHC - African American History and Culture Museum. We spent a couple hours immersed in the history exhibit, walking through 400 years of uneven progress.
After lunch at the Sweet Home Cafe, we took in the culture exhibits on the upper floors. We then walked down to the National Archives to inspect our founding documents before heading back to the hotel to check in.
After a quick nap, we walked down to the Wharf for dinner - getting a little damp in the only rain we would see on the trip. Back to the hotel for an early bed for some tired travelers.
On Thursday October 24, the MRHS Political Action Club hosted a debate for the Cape and Islands State Senate seat, featuring incumbent Democrat Julian Cyr, Republican Christopher Lauzon, and Independent Joe Van Nes. Student panelists developed and asked questions on important topics, and student ran all aspects of the debate, from timers to the moderator, Hillevi Segerson. Watch the debate here:
You can see an interview with Cape Media News after the debate here:
And you can read an Cape Cod Chronicle article about the date here:
Students Show Skills In Running Senate Debate
by Mackenzie Blue
HARWICH – State senate candidates were center stage last Thursday, but the real spotlight was on Monomoy Regional High School’s students.
From lights to camera to audio to timing, students singlehandedly ran and hosted a topical debate — a longstanding tradition that dates back to 1998 — between incumbent Democrat Julian Cyr and challengers Christopher Lauzon, a Republican, and Independent Joe Van Nes. The three are vying for the Cape and Islands senate seat in the Nov. 5 election.
“Something we’ve tried to develop here is this ability for kids to have real experiences in politics,” said John Dickson, a Monomoy High history teacher and organizer of the event, “so to have the candidates for state senate seat actually in front of them, debating the issues, makes it real in terms of what an election is, who these people are who end up on the ballot and the issues they talk about.”
At the helm of the event was the school’s political action club, a nonpartisan group run by Dickson that meets biweekly to discuss political issues in the news. When asked why he joined the club, student Sean Needham said, “It was a new experience and something I would look forward to doing in the future.”
Dickson views the debate as a growth opportunity for his students. “It’s a really heady experience, especially to be a moderator, to be the one in charge up there with these people who are fighting for a job and you’re the one who is kind of their boss for the time,” he said.
Roles are determined by Dickson’s assessment and students’ level of engagement.
Senior Hillevi Segerson was assigned the role of moderator and kept the candidates on track, interrupting on a few occasions for time limits. A panel of three students — Sean Needham, Aubrie Schneeberger and Sophia Milan — asked questions predetermined by the club.
On their process for authoring the questions, Schneeberger said, “We had a couple meetings, just brainstorming, figuring out the wording and how to cover a bunch of topics that are relevant with such little time.”
Each candidate stayed true to their platform, with Cyr calling upon his eight years of experience in office, Lauzon remarking on his homegrown roots as a mechanic in Marstons Mills and Van Nes reiterating his intent to revise a provision that only recognizes farmers as landowners with eight acres or more.
Topics included short-term rental restrictions, climate change, MCAS graduation determination, women’s rights, mental health, wastewater, LGBTQ students, income inequality and poverty and childcare.
In an interview conducted after the debate, the panelists and moderator agreed it went well and there would be a lot of discussion in their upcoming classes. “I think a lot of our teachers will talk about it just because a lot of our grade, as seniors, are able to vote and they are trying to influence us into doing that,” Milan said.
Schneeberger added that she thinks more students will be following the results of the senate race now that they have seen the candidates and heard their positions.
Anecdotally, the crowd was clearly bewildered by Van Nes, the independent candidate. His negative view on standardized testing received an uproar of applause while his support for bitcoin as a leading currency was met with murmurs of confusion.
“[The discussions after the debate] will be enhanced by having the independent candidate because he was different,” said Dickson.
Hillevi was pleasantly surprised with the audience turnout, and by the end of the debate, they were ready to debrief with their classmates.
“I think we’ll talk predictions and about what issues are most important to us and how we think the candidates handled them or will handle them in the future,” they said. “I think the point of the club is to look to the future and that we want to be a part of what we can, even though most of us can’t vote yet.”
From left, student panelists Sean Needham, Aubrie Schneeberger and Sophia Milan. MACKENZIE BLUE PHOTO
Happy Veterans Day! We spent the morning at Arlington National Cemetery, visiting Kennedy's grave, the Marine Corps memorial, and other sites - we couldn't get into the official ceremony with Pres' Biden speaking.
We took the Metro back to the Mall and had lunch at the food trucks there. We then did some more museums, especially the Holocaust Museum and the Air and Space Museum.
For dinner, most of us walked across town the Busboys and Poets for dinner, and even caught half a Georgetown basketball game on the way back.
Tomorrow we will be up early for our flight home - it has been a wonderful adventure!
