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Sharpsville student gets firsthand view of inauguration
February 24, 2005 | ||||||
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KOKOMO, Ind.—On January 20, Sharpsville senior Brad Mitchell stood in the nation's capital on a cold morning, watching President George W. Bush take the oath of office for the second time. “I could have thrown a stone and hit the [presidential] podium,” Mitchell said. “I pictured myself in a history book. Looking at the city around you, you see what our founding fathers did for us, and you are really grateful for the freedom we have that no one else has.” Indiana Congressman Dan Burton arranged Mitchell's “red section” ticket, allowing the young man to bypass much of the Inauguration's extensive security and get a close-up view. The ceremony capped two weeks of activities, in which Mitchell and some 300 other college students closely examined the U.S. political system and its top players. Coordinator of Student Activities Programming and Applied Learning Aimee Sadler helped Mitchell apply for a grant to attend “Inside Washington '05.” Mitchell estimates that, while in Washington, he logged 100 hours of academic work-attending lectures; visiting government, historic, and other sites; and composing a travel journal and two essays. [Mitchell will earn 3 credit hours toward his communication arts major at IU Kokomo for the written assignments and for presenting his experience to classmates.] During the first week, seminar students heard well-known reporters such as Sam Donaldson of ABC, David Broder of The Washington Post, and Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune speak on covering national politics. Some of the media representatives were “arrogant;” some were “entertaining,” according to Mitchell. All of them admitted that negativity and personal bias color reporting. “They said there's a negative tone because the administration always presents the 'positive,' ” Mitchell said. “I thought that was interesting because the administration's voice is filtered through [the news media].” Media viewers also interpret news through their personal biases, Mitchell said. “Politics is human drama. The media are there to capture both the ugly and the pretty, so we all need to be skeptical, just not cynical.” Seminar topics in the second week ranged from political compromise and the history of presidential inaugurations to how charisma, demographics, and values can rock the vote. Speakers included U.S. Representative Mickey Edwards and Senator Chuck Hagel. The students also visited the offices of various lobbying groups, seeing “everything from far left to far right,” Mitchell said. “This system is so big.” The visits reminded Mitchell that many lobbying machines didn't start big or in Washington. “They didn't have an original goal of starting a fund. These were just individuals seeing a need and wanting to help,” he said. “And, if you want to be heard, you need to go to where the law is being made.” Mitchell expects to earn his bachelor's degree in May. He wants to become an intern at the Indiana State House under a Governor's Fellowship. “I do think I'd like lobbying, possibly for group like the Heritage Foundation,” he said. He is the son of Phil and Cheryl Mitchell.
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