Tuesday, June 24, 2014

First Trip of SPS 2014: To the White House Complex

Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall
The highlight of the day was a visit to the White House complex for a meeting and Q & A session with Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, the White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control (aka "the WMD Czar").  After speaking to the group about the nature of her duties and her experience in government, Dr. Sherwood-Randall was kind enough to field a broad range of questions from the St. Albans School of Public Service class of 2014. Dr. Sherwood-Randall wowed the group on substance even before she gave the group parting gifts of official White House M&Ms and photos of the President (and of the White House dog, Bo!).

Rocking the access badges in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building
These guys look ready for the big time already!
Got souvenirs?

Back on campus, SPS '14 took part in a case study on the Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright, that established the right to counsel for indigent defendants.  The case study helps lay the groundwork for the mock Supreme Court argument coming up later this week, in which SPS '14 will take on a case being heard by the "real" Supreme Court case.