Thirty-eight students congregated in Johnson Complex A at 12:15 a.m. Friday, hours before their peers would be getting ready for their last classes before the weekend. Blankets and duffle bags in hand, the students prepared for the 10-hour bus ride to the nation's capital.
Freshman political science major James Willyard said he didn't have a particular monument he most wanted to visit in mind before he left, but he was sure to stop outside the White House, Washington Monument and the National Zoo.
"[Washington, D.C.] is a political hub, so I definitely had a good time," he said.
Friday and Saturday's trip to Washington, D.C., marked Botsford/Swinford's 12th annual all-hall outing. Past trip destinations included St. Louis, Boston and Philadelphia, residence hall director Vicka Bell-Robinson said.
"People just like going places, and it's a great hall bonding experience for everyone," Bell-Robinson said.
Botsford and Swinford halls are the only residence halls on campus that take an annual trip for its residents, she said.
Planning for the trip was a lot like planning a short family vacation, James Robinson, senior Botsford/Swinford hall council treasurer, said.
"We looked for something that had lots to offer but was also educational," he said. "We wanted to make sure people would have a good time."
After a required group trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, students were free to wander the nation's capital on their own time.
Just after attending a Gallaudet University dance team performance, Botsford/Swinford trip chair Maggie Mattmiller and her friends made an evening stop to pose by the White House.
"Everything ran smoothly throughout the weekend," Mattmiller said. "It was cool to see everyone's smiles and know that I helped plan that."
The halls request money from the Ball State University Residence Hall Association and donate $1000 every year in preparation for the trip. To make up for any additional fees, the halls sponsor a task raffle - in which trip committee members volunteered to perform chores and run errands for winners - and three elephant ear sales during the Spring Semester.
Though Botsford/Swinford raised money to help pay for the trip, each student paid an $85 fee to cover transportation and hotel costs, Mattmiller said.
While no other hall takes an annual trip, residents of Brayton/Clevenger, Knotts/Edwards and Woodworth halls each took social and academic field trips this year.
Forty-eight residents from Knotts/Edwards halls went to New York City to visit the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Reserve and other tourist areas at the end of January, Katie Wiese, residence hall director said.
Brayton/Clevenger, the College of Communication, Information, and Media residence hall cluster, has taken one-day field trips to radio and television stations in Fort Wayne in the past, but no annual weekend trips have been planned due to the logistics of planning such a large-scale trip, she said.
Angelia Zielke, Woodworth residence hall director, said she received positive feedback from the 44 students who went on the hall's December trip to Chicago, but the absence of a full executive board would make it difficult to plan an annual trip paid for by its hall council.
"We haven't discussed it in hall council, but if there were enough interest, it'd be something we'd consider doing more often," Zielke said.
Both Wiese and Zielke said many dorms use money to fund other activities such as hall dances and socials.
"Every hall has its own unique traditions," she said. "We don't want to take away from the specialness of BotSwin's."
Botsford/Swinford students arrived on campus 9:30 a.m. Sunday, and though most students slept on the ride back to Indiana, many were exhausted from a long weekend, Mattmiller said.
"It was hard to get back into the swing of things [Monday]," she said. "I was bummed to be out of D.C. and back in class."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
