The Columbia University Office of Public Affairs, in conjunction with the offices of the deans and the Center for Career Services, assists Columbia University and Barnard College students in obtaining internships in the offices of Members of Congress during Columbia's summer break and winter intersession.

The Application Deadline for Winter 2000 Intersession Congressional Internships has been extended to Friday, Nov. 19, 1999. Applications for Summer 2000 Internships are due on December 1, 1999.

(For more information on the Internship Program, please contact Ellen S. Smith, Assistant Vice President and Director of Federal Affairs at (212) 854-3394 (ess9@columbia.edu) or Raj Wadhwani, Congressional Internship Coordinator at (212) 854-7009 (rw211@columbia.edu).)

THE PROGRAM

Students who participate in the Congressional Internship have the chance to gain valuable exposure to many aspects of government, including constituent relations and the procedure, politics and policy of the nation's capital.

This past summer, for example, Columbia placed students in the offices of Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Barbara Mikulski(D-MD), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), as well as Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), John Kasich (R-OH), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Marge Roukema (R-NJ), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), Thomas Davis III (R-VA), and Michael Forbes (D-NY).

The Summer Session

The Washington Summer Internship

Summer internships in Washington afford students the opportunity to see first hand the inner workings of the federal government. While interns are not directly involved in policy making, they still gain exposure to the procedure, politics, and policy of the nation's capital.

Although the responsibilities of an intern may vary from office to office, in general an intern during a summer internship in Washington D.C., will perform general office duties, and have an opportunity for involvement in one or more of the following: attending committee hearings and preparing reports; researching policy and legislation; drafting correspondence, articles and speeches; representing the office at meetings and briefings; leading tours of the Capital for visiting constituents; and answering constituent mail.

The District Office Summer Internship

Students also have the opportunity to apply for a summer internship in a district office. In the district offices, interns will perform general office duties and have an opportunity for involvement in one or more or the following: researching policy and legislation; performing casework for constituents; recording constituent sentiment on policy issues; and answering constituent mail

The Program also coordinates a distinguished speakers series for the summer interns and other Columbia students in the Washington area. During the summer of 1999, interns had the opportunity to meet and discuss current issues with such Columbia graduates as Representative Nadler, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), Claire Shipman of NBC News, Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, Assistant Attornery General Joel Klein, Assistant to the President Michael Waldman, Barry White of the Office of Management and the Budget, Michael Meyers of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and John Harrington of the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as 1997 Columbia Honorary Degree Recipient, Representative John Lewis (D-GA). Other events included an Independence Day picnic on the National Mall.

The Winter Session

In the winter, students generally work exclusively in local district offices. Winter intersession internships in local district offices provide students with valuable experience in the constituent relations realm of politics. Interns will perform general office duties and have an opportunity for involvement in one or more or the following: researching policy and legislation; performing casework for constituents; recording constituent sentiment on policy issues; and answering constituent mail. Unlike Washington D. C. offices, district offices do not usually deal with policy making but instead have constituent relations and casework apparatus.

THE APPLICATION

Prospective interns must be students at Columbia College, Barnard College, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or the School of General Studies. Students wishing to obtain internships through the Congressional Internship Program must first attend an information session or meet with their deans individually. Students then formally apply to the program through the Office of Public Affairs. Upon the deans' approval, students and the Office of Public Affairs coordinate efforts to secure internships with legislators.

Columbia does not grant students academic credit for completing Congressional Internships. Internships are, however, listed on official transcripts.

Last month, the Office of Public Affairs hosted an orientation event for undergraduates interested in pursuing a Congressional internship during the January intersession or the summer of 2000. Forty-five students attended the orientation, held in the Carman Hall lounge. They were addressed by Vice President for Public Affairs Alan J. Stone, Assistant Vice President and Director of Federal Relations Ellen S. Smith, Barbara Lee, of the Barnard College Office of Career Services, and this year's Congressional Intern Coordinator Raj Wadhwani, about the virtues of public service and the opportunities afforded by internship experience.

The students also had the chance to hear from four Columbia students who served as interns this past summer, who spoke about their experiences and answered questions.

The Columbia University Congressional Internship program began 15 years ago as a program designed to place students in intersession internships. During the past eight years, the program has expanded to include summer placements.