On Wednesday, April 15, UB students in HIST 420 “America since 1940” took a day-long field trip to Capitol Hill in D.C. to observe Senate floor discussion, and attend a hearing at the Senate Committee on Armed Services, entitled, “National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Plans and Programs.”  The conversation that Dr. Yi and her students had with a Senate docent and the subject of the hearing itself were intriguing enough, but the trip became even more memorable due to two incidents that happened during their trip.

This happened to be the day that Congress honored the Doolittle Raiders with the Congressional Gold Medal, and the students were able to take part in the ceremony.

Coincidentally, a gyrocopter landed on the Capitol lawn while they were in the building.  But despite the unusual incident, the our UB group was able to return to campus safely and on time!

After the trip, students wrote essays for class analyzing the Senate hearing as a primary source, and proposing an appropriate budget for the Armed Services committee.  As an Enhanced course at UB (open to both honors and non-honors students), HIST 420 benefited from the support of the Helen P. Denit Honors program, which funded the group’s transportation.