Whichever candidate finally wins the Democratic nomination for president, Ferrum College and Boone Honors student Wilson Paine will witness the selection first- hand. Paine, a freshman from Maryville, TN, was selected in December 2003 to participate in "Inside Washington 2004." He spent two weeks in January in Washington, DC, and he will attend the Democratic National Convention in Boston this summer. “Inside Washington 2004” is a program through the Washington Center that is designed to allow college students to get an inside look at what happens during the presidential elections and in the political process in general.

Paine is in the Boone Honors Program here, and Dr. Howell sent him an e-mail one day telling him about the program and about a scholarship from the Appalachian College Association (ACA) . He wrote two essays, got two letters of recommendation, and was one of the ACA students chosen to receive a scholarship.

The history major left Jan. 4 from his home in Maryville and traveled to Washington, DC. He was there for two weeks, which dipped into the first week of classes. He didn’t come back until Jan. 16. “All of my teachers have been pretty lenient and it was the first week. I didn’t miss a lot, but I’ve had to play catch up,” says Paine.

While at the conference there were two one week programs. The first week the program was about the Democratic Primary and an inside look at all of the candidates. The second week the seminar was about politics and the media. Paine had a chance to meet the presidents of Fox News, C-SPAN, and even Sam Donaldson. Paine said he learned about Washington, from the politics to how to ride the Metro. “It’s amazing how political Washington is. They were a lot nicer than I thought. The people on the Metro are exactly like they look on TV, even the guy in the suit reading the Wall Street Journal.” In addition to meeting new people, Paine was also able to see the sights of Washington. “There’s so much history there. We saw the Presbyterian church where Abe Lincoln attended.”

In addition to his two-week stay in Washington, Paine will also be attending the Democratic Convention in July. “I get to see the whole go round of the presidential election and how each party tries to gain the presidency, how they use strategic moves and stuff. I also get to go to the Inauguration next January, so that’s cool.”

Dr. Lana Whited is Paine’s advisor and has been supportive of Paine while he’s been in the program. “She’s really encouraged me to attend all of these things. I’m not sure I would have gone outside of my comfort zone to do this and go to Washington.” “I think anytime a student has this kind of opportunity, it makes the student see that the world is bigger,"Whited said. "Wilson has such enthusiasm for learning and a genuine appetite for knowledge and it’s easy to see that."

Fall semester 2003 saw the students in the Boone Honors Program attending two plays. On Saturday, September 20, a group of students and faculty traveled 2 hours southwest of Ferrum to Abingdon, Virginia. After lunch at Withers Hardware Cafe, the group saw the matinee performance of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at the historic Barter Theatre. The Barter opened in 1933 during the height of the Depression and takes it name from the practice of bartering. When it opened, the price of admission was 35 cents or its equivalent in food. Christie's mystery is the longest running play in the history of the English-speaking stage and provided a delightful afternoon for the group trying to figure out who among the snowbound people in country guesthouse was the avenging murderer. Before returning to Ferrum, the group took time to explore some of the shops and galleries of Abingdon.

The second play of the semester Boone Honors students attended was The Complete History of America Abridged at Roanoke's Mill Mountain Theatre on October 29. The play is another hilarious hit by the authors of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. Centuries of American history were crammed into a frenetic, irreverent ninety minutes. Before the play, Whited, Howell, and students enjoyed dinner at Nawabs, an Indian restaurant on Roanoke's Market Square a short distance from the theatre. For students, it was there first taste of Indian food. Unfortunately, the group lingered so long over the delicious opening two courses that dessert was left behind in order to make the opening curtain at the play.

Reason and the Individual Seminar Offered in Spring 2004 - Staff contributor

Dr. John Bruton, Professor of English, and Dr. Michael Trochim, Professor of History, offer their seminar "Reason and the Individual: Anglo-American Culture in the Eighteenth Century" for the first time in Spring 2004. As students study the way that rationalism and individualism emerged as a dominant paradigm in the English-speaking world of this period, each student will select an eighteenth century literary or historical figure to study intensively.

Presidential Open House "Snowed-out" - Staff contributor

Dr. Jennifer Braaten, tenth president of Ferrum College, planned on hosting Boone Honors program students and faculty at Stratton House on Thursday, December 4. The winter's first big snowstorm of the season, however, postponed the end-of-semester celebration. Instead, faculty and students were welcomed back for the new semester and treated to a dinner buffet by Dr. Braaten at her home on Thursday, January 20.

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