White House

White House

Planning to get into the White House is a long process. Michelle, one of our head chaperones started the process 6 months in advance. To get into the White House, you need a Senator sponsor. Hanabusa’s camp didn’t respond to Michelle’s request, so she put in a request to Senator Gabbard. After a quick response, we were able to provide names for the very thorough background check. One thing worth noting is that our state senator’s only get a limited amount of passes per year, so we were lucky. Some students were added to the trip last minute, so they couldn’t get into the White House.

It was a long line to get into the White House. They check if your name is on the list and do a good job of scanning your id. And then you go through security check. The tour itself is very short and it is a self- guided tour. We only got to walk on the first floor and visit the rooms with its beautiful décor. After about 15 minutes, we exited the premises and onto the street where an Iranian protest was going on. It appeared to be a peaceful protest, however I thought a suicide bomber would come at any minute. All the chaperones agreed that this wasn’t safe, so we removed ourselves away from the situation quickly.