On March 31, 2023, 14 students from Mr. Whittemore’s AP Language and College English classes had the opportunity to visit LIU Post on a field trip to take part in the “White House Experience.” The Eagle’s Cry was able to attend this event and reveal the exciting chance given to the students at BHS.

The building located on the campus is a (much smaller) replica of the actual White House. Each room was carefully decorated to mirror the White House in DC. Upon arrival, students were brought into the “Oval Office,” where they were assigned the positions of different cabinet members. Shortly after, the fourteen were ushered into the “Situation Room.” In addition to a brief tour of the building, the trip mostly consisted of sitting in the “Situation Room” to discuss different prompts and ultimately come to a consensus. Essentially, the students acted like they were actually a member of the Executive branch to make important decisions regarding the welfare of the country. 

The first prompt dealt with the containment of Communism in Grenada. This event actually occurred in the 80s, when over 600 American medical school students were trapped in the country of Grenada. Our 14 students at BHS were given many options and had to discuss the outcomes to safely bring the trapped individuals back to the US. With the help of faux-president Marnes Richemond and the rest of the cabinet members, they were able to correctly solve the problem at hand. This seemingly daunting task required teamwork, decision-making, proper communication, and critical thinking.

The second prompt related to climate change, and students discussed the Paris Agreement, which took place less than a decade ago. After switching cabinet positions, Brett Jassey, our new president, encouraged each student to engage in the discourse regarding climate change and the obligation of other countries to take action to prevent global warming. Evidently, this situation was very different from the previous one, but it still required the same set of skills to ultimately come to an agreement.

As the second school to take part in the “White House Experience” at LIU Post, we feel grateful that we were able to participate. Despite the intense problem-solving and critical thinking, the element of fun definitely did not get lost. All students unanimously agreed that this was an enjoyable way to learn about the intense functioning of the US Government.

Senior Marnes Richemond explains, “It was fun to be president for a day. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and to be in the second test group was really cool!”

Thank you to Dr. Andy Person and Dr. Christopher Adams at LIU Post for granting us this opportunity, and thank you to Mr. Whittemore and Mr. Healy for joining us on this momentous field trip.