Every school year, Shepherd University hosts several Saturday morning bus trips to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore in collaboration with the Washington Gateway Program. These trips are free to all members of the campus community, but attendance numbers have been low as of late.
Many students claimed that they were simply too busy with their day-to-day activities to give the trips a thought. “I’ve got homework all the time,” said sophomore Carlos Amaya. “On the weekends, I usually don’t feel like going out. I just want to relax with my friends.”
The last bus trip to D.C. was March 22, and students who took the trip were very vocal about their support for the program. “I had a lot of fun; my friends and I went to great restaurants and saw a lot of cool art!” said sophomore Rebecca Phillips.
“We also got to take a trip to the Air and Space Museum and walk the Mall,” said Rebecca’s friend and roommate Paige Sharabi. “I think it’s cool that my boyfriend can come with us on the trip even though he is not currently a student,” she said.
If you are reading this article and interested in taking advantage of one of these Gateway bus trips yourself, then you are in luck as there will be one more this semester to Washington, D.C. on April 12. Information about these trips is available on the website: www.shepherd.edu, and free tickets can be acquired by contacting Student Affairs at (304) 876-5729.
The buses leave from the Student Center at 8:30 a.m. and return to Shepherd at 4:45 p.m. That gives people on the trip nearly six hours to do whatever shopping, sightseeing or business they feel like. If you attend this trip, be sure to meet up at the designated spot before 4:45 p.m., as the Gateway Program warns participants that lateness can potentially result in being left behind.