The Constructing America trip to Washington D.C. has been running smoothly for ten years now, and Riverdale has gotten it down to a science. As a result, not much will be changing for this year’s junior class. However, there will be a few minor tweaks, as factors out of the school’s control require minor adjustments, and lessons from previous trips suggest slight improvements.
One change is that the speakers shift from year to year. Last year, a group of students heard from U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico, and his wife Jill. Constructing teacher Dr. Elizabeth Pillsbury reflected, “We found that having a congressperson address the whole student group has never been very successful because we have to sit outside on the steps of the Capitol, and it’s cold, and politicians can’t really talk to people in the same way that other people can talk, at least to big groups.”
This year, instead of hearing from a congressperson, students will hear from speakers that have presented on past trips. Junior Marie Shpilrain, who will be attending the trip at the end of January, supports this change because she’d “rather be with someone who doesn’t necessarily have the title of a Senator or Congressperson, but is able to explain their opinions well and is able to connect with us.”
Robert Raben, former Assistant Attorney General and current head of a consulting group, will talk to students about lobbying and how policy is made. Tsione Wold Micheal will talk about her work as a former curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Dr. Pillsbury said she has been an awesome speaker who can captivate students, as “she’s young and charismatic and really great.” Some students will also get the chance to speak with a reporter from Politico about reporting.
Students also have the opportunity to hear from advocacy groups of their choice to learn about how policy is made. Over the years, students have visited different lobbyist groups based on availability. For example, after Trump’s election, some advocacy groups didn’t have time to meet with students, so Riverdale had to seek out others. This year, the juniors will be hearing from the same groups as last year’s juniors, including NARAL Pro-Choice America, The Economic Policy Institute, The Carnegie Endowment for Peace, and The Environmental Defense Fund. Dr. Pillsbury said she enjoys this day because “a lot of students talk about, years later, how this is where they started thinking about what they wanted to do in college.”
Students will listen to these groups on Thursday, their second day in D.C., and they will visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture the following day. Last year, the two events were switched. Dr. Pillsbury explained that the switch was a function of which day they could get tickets to the museum, which are in high demand. She shared that visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture “is a priority.” Senior Kate Groves affirmed that the museum was one of her favorite parts of the trip.
After meeting with the advocacy groups, individual Constructing America classes will meet up during a time that in past years used to be completely free for students to explore D.C.. The hope is that students will share and reflect about what they’ve seen. Dr. Pillsbury explained, “We wanted everybody to come back because there’s a lot of independent student travel, and we also wanted people to be able to debrief their experiences in the afternoon.”
Hopefully the change will be able to reflect on their experiences without taking away from students' enjoyment of their freedom. Groves appreciated that on the trip the teachers “give you a lot of freedom and don’t dictate every place you have to go.” She enjoyed visiting the museums and attractions that she most wanted to see.
Although most others things will remain the same, students will not be going to the theater this year as they usually do because there are not appealing options. Dr. Pillsbury explained, “especially coming from New York, bad theater is bad theater.”
Shpilrain wishes they could still see a show, regardless of the choices available, because she thinks it’s a good bonding experience. She also values getting to experience theater in another city, since it’s a completely different atmosphere. However, Shpilrain says that whether or not this will be a good change comes down to what juniors will be doing instead.
A major challenge last year was a big storm that hit. As a result, students had to wake up early and travel to D.C. a day later than planned. Groves explained that her main disappointment with the trip was the lost time. “If anything, I’d make the trip a bit longer,” she explained, as she enjoyed each aspect of the trip, “just because you travel so far and it feels like you’re packing so much into such a short amount of time.”
Dr. Pillsbury acknowledged, “Weather is always an issue. It can be very very cold, so when students are walking that can be hard.” Thus, for the one day of the trip that students have historically done a lot of walking, Riverdale has a bus reserved for longer than normal. The bus will transport students from one site to another if it’s too cold to walk.
Teachers have been working hard to make sure that this trip is a great experience. Hopefully, new speakers, more group meeting times, and prioritizing quality entertainment will make for a great eleventh run of the Constructing America Trip.