Washington Students Enjoy Pizza and Politics

Students enrolled in the spring semester of CMC's Washington Program enjoyed an informal pizza dinner with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) in his Capitol Hill office recently. The students were able to hear McDermott's perspectives on the Bush Administration's domestic and foreign policy, and have "face time" with a member of Congress, while McDermott, a former college professor himself, enjoyed spending time with the students, says Elizabeth Spalding, assistant professor of government and director of CMC's Washington Program.
The meeting took place in the historic Rayburn building, attended by Andrew Barr, Elizabeth Moodie, Michael Peel, Nicholas Piatek, Christopher Vieira, Kevin Walkow, Stephen Dagadakis, and Daniel Grosslight, all '07, and David Reitz, Anita Sundarajan, Vanessa Carter, and Elvia Zazueta, all Class of 2008. Dagadakis was serving as the congressman's intern at that time. Brandon Jacobsen and Nora Becker (both POM) also participated.
Spalding typically arranges a variety of guest speakers each semester, including leaders from offices in which CMC students are interning. "We often meet with one or two members of Congress, and of course we always meet with CMC alumnus and trustee David Dreier, who chairs the House Rules Committee," she says.
Recent speakers included Congressmen McDermott and Dreier and Christian D. Brose, head speechwriter for Secretary Condoleezza Rice and, at just 26, a student favorite--as well as Ivo H. Daalder, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow, and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol.
As to whether Congressman McDermott worked up an appetite in the spirited give and take with CMC students, Spalding says he happily ate four slices of Domino's best.