So done. So very done. Just turned in my last paper of 2L year. Huzzah! Now, I get to spend a few days hanging out in D.C., and then I fly home to CA on Saturday! Beautiful.
My last final exam was on Saturday, for Refugee Law and Policy. It was a very fair exam, the sort where the professor presents opportunities for you to demonstrate your knowledge, without any tricks. That's how all exams should be.
After my exam, I went to the
Newseum, which is a very modern and interactive museum devoted to the history of news. The exhibits appealed to me both as the former editor-in-chief of my high school's newspaper, and as a hardcore news junkie.
You start on the 6th floor (after taking a ride on one of the world's largest glass hydraulic elevators), where you can walk along the outdoor terrace for an excellent view of Pennsylvania Avenue and the Capitol. I went to the Newseum on a whim (and left my cellphone in my checked backpack), so I apologize for the lack of photographs. Inside, there is a long hallway with the day's front pages from around the country and the world. It reminded me of the newspapers on display in front of the Free Speech Cafe at Berkeley.
The 5th floor was devoted to the history of news. I spent a lot of time reading about the various phases of news, including the origin of eyewitness reports, the beginnings of female and minority reporters, and even satirical news sources like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Onion! There was also a timeline featuring actual newspapers, so that you could get a feel for the major events of each year. They even had a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1989 about the Loma Prieta earthquake.
The museum emphasizes the freedoms of the First Amendment throughout the exhibits, but the 4th floor had a gallery specifically devoted to each of the five freedoms (religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition). There are computers all over the place with games for children, and, I don't mind telling you, I rocked the First Amendment game. I knew two semesters of Constitutional Law would be good for something. The 4th floor also had a gallery devoted to 9/11, which included front pages from around the world about the event, and a large, mangled piece of the broadcasting antenna that had been at the top of the North Tower.
As I walked through and looked at those photos from the attacks, I couldn't help but to think back to 2001. I was a
freshman sophomore in high school, getting ready for the day. We didn't really know what was going on when the first plane crashed--I thought it must have been a terrible accident--but, when I watched the second plane hit on TV, it was clear that this was deliberate. My first class of the day was Journalism, and we rigged up a television in our computer lab so that we could watch the news coverage. We spent English class journaling about how we felt about the attack. It was amazing how, instantaneously, things had changed.
The 3rd floor had some great information about the freedom of the press internationally, and a memorial for journalists who died on the job, in the pursuit of truth. There was a wonderful exhibit devoted to radio, television, and the Internet. I was very impressed by how up-to-date the exhibit was, with information about Twitter and even the iPad. I was amused by an old editorial cartoon they had displayed, in which a bunch of people are standing on a subway, reading the newspaper, except for the guy at the end of the car, who is carrying a massive personal computer in order to read the newspaper online. I wonder what marvelous things the future will bring.
The 2nd floor had a ton of computers with games for children to grapple with journalistic ethics. I played a couple of the games out of curiosity, and thought they did a good job of covering a wide array of issues--manipulation of photographs for dramatic effect, taking a photo of a person who needs help, going undercover at an insane asylum to get the inside scoop, and others. There was also a bank of video cameras and green screens where you could try your hand at reporting. I kind of wanted to do it, but not alone. Oh, well, next time.
The 1st floor was basically just the lobby, though they did have a little gallery with Pulitzer Prize photographs, which were all incredible. I especially loved the
photographs of Barack Obama's presidential campaign by Damon Winter. There was also an absurd "4-D" theatre with 3-D glasses and moving seats, which showed a 20-minute film about important reporters in history, including
Edward R. Murrow and
Nellie Bly. Don't get me wrong--the film was great, but I just don't think that a film about the history of news needs to be in 3-D with moving chairs. Then again, perhaps I overestimate the attention span of middle schoolers.
Finally, on the Concourse level, there were eight sections of the Berlin Wall and one of the East German guard towers on display. It was strange to see in a museum. Part of me was grappling with the historical significance, but another part of me was appreciating the graffiti as art. There were also a couple of temporary exhibits, one on sports photography, and one on "g-men" (the FBI). And, for what it's worth, they have a very nice food court, if a bit pricey. (Then again, I have yet to find a museum in D.C. that serves reasonably priced food.)
The building design is very aesthetically pleasing, both inside and out. I have always loved the text of the First Amendment on the outside of the building. All told, I spent over three hours at the Newseum. I highly recommend it, even though it's one of the few museums in D.C. where you have to pay to get in ($20, ouch).
