Silver Spring Downtown

Last week I spent a day in Silver Spring, Maryland. My girlfriend and I wanted to get a way from busy DC area to somewhere much quieter, but (fortunately) we ended up in somewhere completely opposite from what I wanted. Getting there was easy: we took red line metro for 10 minutes, arrived at Silver Spring metro stop and walked two blocks uphill, then we saw a giant sign that reads Downtown Silver Spring. As a delicious aroma of diverse restaurants greeted us and made us busy looking around different food, next thing we know, we felt like you somehow transported yourself to Easton shopping mall in Columbus. The downtown was full of shops, restaurants, and full of fun things to do. From CVS to New York and Companies, there were enough variety of stores to satisfy my fickle taste. Also we saw diverse people in the town, from babies playing in the street fountain to "cool" teenagers on a double date in Starbucks to elder couples fancily dining together in Red Lobsters.
Silver Spring downtown is full of dynamic energy that resembled Easton in Columbus. While the town may seem small compare to Easton, it is just big enough to spend your whole day (for girls, maybe two days...) and get yourself something that's just right for you. The ice link in the town definitely makes up its smaller size. Loud music and bright dancing lights make you want to put on a pair of ice skates and make a fool of yourself on ice. After a long day of shopping you can wind down by either going to a movie theater or go to a concert hall that features local indie bands. Also there is a giant stage in the town, so I wouldn't be surprised if big bands have their concerts there. So when you want to get a way from the heart of DC, to emerge yourself in materialism or to feel like you are at Easton, or just to want to have different kind of fun, you should go to Silver Spring.

Hard at Work Carving Pumpkins

Last week was an unusual one for me here in DC. Hurricane Sandy paid us a visit, and my office was closed both Monday and Tuesday.  I was out of the building in off-site meetings for most of Wednesday and Thursday, so, very few tasks were checked off my to-do list.

The other staff here at NCJW were basically in the same boat. We’re a 501c3, which means that we are non-partisan and don’t endorse candidates in elections, but we do plenty of voter engagement and empowerment work.  Missing two crucial days before the election set us back a bit, and for the most part we were working independently and furiously to get back on schedule. There was one thing, though, that the whole office joined together to get done this week. It was a task of vast importance. Our office building puts on an annual pumpkin-carving contest and we had to work quickly to submit our pumpkin because of the office closings.

Every year NCJW submits a pumpkin we lose.  We try to be relevant and political (only on issues we endorse, never on candidates or parties!) but a little cute and clever too.  First we’d settled on carving a sequestration pumpkin—here in DC it’s almost all anyone talks about—but we couldn’t figure out how to clearly represent it jack-o-lantern-style.  Instead we picked a topic close to NCJW’s heart and the hearts of our sections, particularly in now in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, and Washington: Marriage Equality.

My supervisor, Amy, crafted a cute design, two jack-o-lantern hearts, with big block letters spelling out marriage equality across the top. Jodi, the deputy director of the office and an expert pumpkin carver, brought in tools for excavating the pumpkin and carving our design to perfection. But, of course, first we had to gut the pumpkin. I arrived back to the office from my first meeting just in time. The office director, never one afraid to get her hands dirty, had gotten a nice start, but I soon took over, cleaning out the pumpkin so it would be ready to carve. We, of course, saved the seeds, so we could snack on those, rather than all of the leftover Halloween candy we have sitting in the kitchen.

I then ran to another meeting, and by the time I was back the pumpkin was all carved and just needed to be cleaned up and submitted for judgment. When we brought it down we scoped out the competition—it was fierce. The architecture firm in the building carved a haunted house, the Health Care company made a Mister Potato Head style pumpkin, and the magazine made a ballot box. But we felt confident our design may take home a prize.

…We’re still waiting to hear back.

UPDATE (11/5/12 2:46PM) We won most creative pumpkin that came with a cupcake delivery for the entire office!

 

Leah Apothaker

Legislative Intern at the National Council of Jewish Women

Even Sandy can't keep a good Court down! (At least for one day)

Last week an unwelcome visitor came to pay us a visit: Hurricane Sandy.  Luckily, she did give us a few days notice and we were able to stock up on the necessary supplies and she was little more than a nuisance to the Fellows of the program.  Our power did not go out, there was no flood damage, and we can all count our lucky stars that D.C. was not hit as hard as some had predicted.  Unfortunately other areas of the East Coast were not as lucky and we keep them in our thoughts as they work to rebuild.

Having a hurricane come to town gave us Fellows an experience I'm sure most of us thought we would not have: weekdays off work.  Instead of "snow days" as we Ohioans have become accustomed to having once or twice a winter, we all had atleast one "hurricane day" with most fellows having two.  Because of the threat of storm and subsequent storm, a large majority of the federal government shut down Monday and Tuesday. However, my internship did not close fully for both days.  On Monday, employees who could get to work did, and the court schedule proceeded normally.  All nine Justices made it to the bench, as well as the attorneys arguing the cases, so while the winds and rain continued outside, Justice continued inside the marble walls of the Supreme Court. 

Because I was one of the few employees--and only intern--able to make it into work, I was able to attend oral argument (thank you prime location!) and view the proceedings of a case I have been looking forward to all term.  The case was Clapper v. Amnesty International et al. and dealt with details of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.  I've spoken about the case to a few people and have seen the interest drain from their face seconds into my analysis, so I'll spare all of you--but trust me when I say that I was captivated.

After oral arguments on Monday, very few others activities were still scheduled and the court closed early.  On Tuesday, not even the Court could withstand the storm and closed along with the rest of the government.  It was a pretty uneventful day since the Metro was closed and the weather was poor, but it did give me a chance to study for the LSAT and work on my paper for class.  It made for a short, but productive week, and certainly a new experience for all of us. 

-Katie

There’s so much room for activities!

When applying for this program a warning should be issued about how many people will want to come visit you and your roommates. It seems that our apartment has a revolving door, which I don’t mind considering I grew up with one during my childhood. But it seems that there are always friends, family, or significant others swinging by for the weekend. This of course gives us a great excuse to do all of the touristy things in DC like visiting the monuments and strolling around the mall seeing different Smithsonian museums. I can’t help but be grateful for these visits because it gives me the opportunity to meet other people and have adventures all over the city, two things of which I enjoy. Of course we tend to bring our guests along during our usual weekend activities which include going to the Ohio State bar called Rhino in Georgetown for the games and spending at least one morning in Eastern Market. While having guests here I have had the opportunity to see the Lincoln, Jefferson, Korean War, and WWII memorials. Then there were tours of the White House Gardens and Capital (working in a Congressional office can have its perks) with a short visit to the new exhibits in the Library of Congress.

One advantage to having friends visit is having access to a car, which is nice and allows you to go places in the city that are not metro accessible. I was lucky enough to go to Annapolis with my friend and cousin for a Livingston Taylor show (he’s James Taylor’s brother for those who don’t know him, and if you don’t know who James Taylor is shame on you.) It was about a 45 minute drive and while I did not explore the Naval Academy, I’ve heard it’s worth the trip. I would encourage anyone coming to dc for the spring semester to urge your friends to visit and make yourselves explore all the different things to do in DC. On any given weekend there is an event or festival of some sort. The possibilities are endless!

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in the District

There were multiple events around the district celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Many of these events are long standing traditions in DC and I was very excited to be able to participate in them. I went to art galleries and other smaller events hosted by the Smithsonian, something I have always wanted to do in DC. My favorite events overall were festivals I went to at the National Zoo and another one downtown on Pennsylvania Avenue. It was really refreshing to be surrounded by Spanish speakers again and I found a lot of my favorite treats that I miss from home. Although the crowd make up was overwhelmingly of El Salvadorans, I definitely found significant representation of Mexican food, vendors, live music, and traditional dance performances. 

Photo from Washington Hispanic, "Más de 100 mil en Fiesta DC." 

The second festival I went to was Fiesta DC. It was very well attended, with reports of over 100,000 people at the festival. It was a huge one-day event that hosted three large stages, many vendors, a lot of local nonprofits and community organizations, and of course a large parade representing the multitudes of cultures from all over Latin America. I was wonderfully surprised to find a solo performance from Pee Wee, member of former boy band Kumbia Kings and my middle school crush.

This year Hispanic Heritage Month was also a bit more interesting as President Obama signed a proclamation in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month in September and established the Cesar E. Chaves National Monument in October. Even when WAIP went on a tour of the White House there were paintings displayed from Latino artists. It’s always refreshing to experience your heritage history acknowledged and celebrated in mainstream venues.

Written by Amber Seira  | @amber_seira

The Newseum

This past weekend, I had the chance to explore the Newseum. While admission is not free, I highly recommend paying for tickets since this is one of the best museums that I have ever been to. The Newseum is a museum of newspapers, television, the internet, social media, and every type of communication that has ever existed to share current events and news stories. If you are planning on visiting, make sure to give yourself a few hours to walk through the six floors of exhibits, theaters, and interactive displays that make up the Newseum.


My favorite exhibit was more or less a history of U.S. and world events through hundreds of newspaper front pages. One thing that I enjoyed about this exhibit was that the newspapers were not limited to major national publications. In addition to some international and foreign language headlines, I was surprised to find a copy of the now defunct “Cleveland Press” headlining the Kent State shooting. Other highlights included a September 11th memorial through news, an outline of the media coverage of the 2012 and 2008 Presidential elections (which is consistently updated) and an exhibit on the Cold War with an actual piece of the Berlin wall. There is also an interactive display that allows you to make your own commercials, headlines, and social media pages for a fake news story.

I could have easily stayed at the museum for four or five hours and not seen everything, so in my opinion the Newseum is one of the highlights of D.C. that is absolutely worth the time and the money.

-Marissa Cooper

Affirming Affirmative Action

This post is by Leah Apothaker, legislative intern at the National Council of Jewish Women.

Last year, when the professor of my black politics class informed us that affirmative action might be in jeopardy, I didn’t believe him. Who knew that only a few months later, I’d be rallying with NCJW and our coalition partners outside the US Supreme Court in favor of affirmative action the morning of the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin oral arguments? The plaintiff in the case, Abigail Fisher, is a white student who believes she was denied admission at UT because of her race.  Should the court rule in her favor, they would overturn their 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, which allowed race to be one of many factors considered during in the college admissions process. This outcome would be damaging—not only for students of color, but also for the white students who benefit so greatly from a diverse student body and the civil right of equal opportunity.

At the rally, an organizer handed me a sign that read, “Diversity equals success.” Many speakers told personal stories, quoted think tank studies, cited admissions statistics, and repeated the message of the sign I held. As a student I couldn’t help but wonder, is diversity really the key to my success?

When applying to colleges, I knew I wanted to attend a university that championed promulgated diversity as a priority. In high school, my peers and I were all the same—white, upper-middle class, third and fourth generation Americans.  While we may have each had different academic strengths and interests, I had little to learn from their life experiences because we had such similar roots. I believed then, as I do now, that a vital component of education is discussion and disbursement of ideas among students and professors both in and out of the classroom. When diversity doesn’t exist in a student body, the range of perspective represented diminishes. When diversity doesn’t exist within a student body, students are denied opportunities to learn and grow from one another. When diversity doesn’t exist in a student body, we are allowed to remain ignorant.

College shouldn’t be a bubble where students aren’t challenged to alter our perspectives or ways of thinking. It should prepare us to understand others and learn to work together to achieve great things. Diversity works for students. By preparing us for reality, it sets us up to succeed. Diversity equals success.

Now a senior at The Ohio State University, I’m the beneficiary of a student community beautifully impacted by multiculturalism and ethnic and racial diversity. I value the additional admissions consideration my university provides to first generation college students and students who bring “cultural, economic, racial, or geographic diversity” to the student population.  Why? Because I, like the students at UT, know these considerations have helped enrich and further my education.

Originally posted here on October 12th, 2012

Oral Arguments: Surprisingly Never a Dull Moment

October 1st is not a particularly special day for many people, but this year it was for me.  It was the first Monday in October, which made it the beginning of the 2012-2013 term of the Supreme Court.  By some stroke of luck, I was able to get a seat in the courtroom to witness it.  Well before 10AM, I headed to the courtroom to be seated, finding myself impressed by how full the courtroom was.  At exactly 10 o’clock, the Justices made their entrance into the courtroom and took their places.  The Chief Justice announced the opening of the term, admitted new members to the Supreme Court Bar, and then started on the first case.  Kiobel v. Dutch Royal Petroleum as a strange case to hear because the question of why it was even being heard in the United States was repeated several times.  A little used Alien Tort Statute, established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 served as the purpose for the Supreme Court hearing the case, as well as the diplomatic issues that could arise from different rulings.  Still, many Justices weren’t convinced and displayed that during the time each side is given.  The attorneys only have thirty minutes each to argue their case, and the Justices can ask questions at any time, so it becomes a large question-and-answer session to help the Justices clarify and make decisions.  When the first hour was finished, the second case began.

Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Fl. Provided some comic relief.  While the underlying issue—what exactly is a vessel ?—is very serious and could have some pretty far reaching consequences, the case itself was  hilarious.  A Florida millionaire, described as eccentric, owned a floating home and was connected to the dock by a rope and extension cord.  In determining if this was a vessel or not, the Justices considered whether inner tubes or styrofoam couches that floated along the river could also be vessels, too.  At times, I found myself laughing out loud at the comments made by the Justices, but never forgetting that the case at hand as far more serious than one man’s desire to have his home float on the river.

Overall, I was incredibly pleased by my ability to hear the arguments.  It was not until I received this internship that I even entertained the idea that I might get to view oral arguments, and I never thought I would get to see such exciting cases.

If you would like to read more about the cases, this website has really great information : www.SCOTUSblog.com

            If you would like to listen to the cases I heard, they will be online on Friday here : http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_audio.aspx

-Katie

The Balkans, 21st Century Civility

I had the opportunity to meet the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia, Teuta Arifi, along with the ambassadors of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, during a luncheon discussion of Macedonia and the European Union. The Republic of Macedonia has been in Accession to the E.U. since 2005, and DPM Arifi spoke openly, succinctly, and candidly of the Republic’s integration into the European Union. 

The name dispute with Greece is considered to be the biggest obstacle to Macedonian integration into the E.U. The name dispute is a disagreement between the two countries concerning the official name of the Republic of Macedonia, which is recognized by the United Nations as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.” The dispute arises from ambiguity between the Republic of Macedonia and the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia which falls within Greek Macedonia. Greece opposes the use of the name "Macedonia" by the Republic of Macedonia without a geographical qualifier.

What was interesting, in my opinion, about this luncheon, was seeing how diplomatically the ambassadors interacted with each other, given the tumultuous history within the region. I am certainly enjoying learning and growing in DC!


#WAIPAU2012

- Jade Adair
 

George Bellows

-Isaac Choi-

A week ago, I went to National Galary of Art to see the gallery dedicated to George Bellows, our fellow OSU alum. His art work was indeed jaw dropping. His work captures every emotion, motion, and ambiance creating entertaining yet very realistic art work.


His famous Stag at Sharkey’s amazed me because he was able to capture not only the fighters punching motions, but also their emotions, struggles and their desires to win. Also crowd's mixed face expressions creates very active atmosphere. The painting gave me an illusion that I was sitting next to Bellows in a boxing arena filled with noise and excitement.


There was one part of me wondering why I like his art so much. Is it because of his style? is it because of the art subjects? Or is it simply because he is from OSU? 

To learn about his art more, I went to the west wing of the museum where the film about him was playing. Unlike the rest of the museum, the west wing was dedicated to contemporary and modern art. Surrounded by weird looking sculptures and strange art pieces (which looked like they were done by four year olds), I watched the short film about George Bellows and his work. Then I slowly began to understand why Bellows work was liked by many people, including myself. 

Unlike Bellows, many artists at that time began to experiment with art, Picasso's cubism for example. However, as the time went on, artists were too busy with their experiments and their techniques, the subjects of the artists have became invisible to the audience. Too fixated in their theories and their efforts to be unique, the line between good art and bad art was blurred, leaving audiences puzzled and confused. When looking at a modern art piece, the audience can't tell whether the piece they are seeing is a creative masterpiece with genius idea or a crappy art piece that were done by 4 year olds. Too many crappy art pieces nowadays has "meanings" behind, but I can't help but to wonder if those are really artful or only artful just because some pretentious people gave more meanings than they deserve.

Bellows who was concurrent of the inception of this puzzling art period, did not give in to the pressure to be "unique" or "modern." Instead he drew and painted what he saw and how he felt explicitly on canvases. He did not experiment with his art or made his art difficult for his audience. No one has to search for meanings behind Bellow's work, and no one has to doubt his art skills. Bellow's art is simply easy and good.

More artists should be influenced by his work. I hope they began to realize that they don't have to "create" art. Instead of nailing thousands of strawberries on a wall or doing some weird activities to pursue art, artists can simply draw their everyday lives, people they meet, sceneries of their neighborhoods to create beautiful art. George Bellows reminds all of us that we are surrounded by gorgeous art.