Reporting (blogging really) from Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON D.C. — Former Managing Editor Chris Carter here writing from the Nation's Capital. I am a summer intern reporter for the Student Press Law Center. The SPLC is based out of Arlington, Va., and exists to help promote and secure the First Amendment rights of students.

My time here is filled with keeping an eye on the news, writing newsflashes for www.splc.org and writing in-depth articles for the Center's magazine, the Report. Intermittently I also am granted the privilege of exploring the D.C. area with my fellow interns and publications fellow.

Just yesterday I was in a U.S. Senate judiciary committee hearing on oversight related to the Department of Justice. The U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder was present to answer questions from the Senate (and later the House) not ten feet from me. The experience has been overwhelming to say the least.

Leaving the west coast, where I was born and raised to come out east, alone and without much money wasn't an easy decision. My acceptance as an intern provided an opportunity I could not pass up however.

I believe that it is important for students to take advantage of opportunites like this whenever they can, and as often as possible. The chance to work here, as well as the life lessons learned by living on ones own, in a city totally foreign serves much more than sitting at home in Bremerton (no offense).

I plan on writing for this blog often during my stay but would like input from anyone as to what you might like to read about.

There is an opportunity to tour the Capitol building and surrounding sites Friday and I will likely be with caravan of folks taking that trip. I will do my best to return here with pictures (and words of course).

In July, I will be attending a conference hosted by Campus Progress (www.campusprogress.org) that features former President Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker. If anyone has questions for the former prez, let me know...who knows, you just might get it answered.

This is all for now, but expect much more to come. Stay tuned!

-Chris Carter
The Olympian Staff