During an on-campus panel discussion on Feb. 13, Elon students recapped their Winter Term class The Trail Starts Here: The Iowa Caucuses, highlighting what it was like to be immersed in the politically charged environment.
Elon students who participated in the Winter Term class The Trail Starts Here: The Iowa Caucuses joined their professors, Rich Landesberg and Mark Dalhouse, to speak on Feb. 13 at an on-campus discussion panel where they answered questions about their experiences in the Midwest. During the course’s nearly two weeks in Iowa, journalism and political science majors engaged with presidential hopefuls, interviewed voters and offered real-time reporting of political events and topics.
As everyone gathered in the Moseley Center for some pre-discussion pizza, there was plenty of conversation among the students who participated in the class and their peers. Once the panel began, each of the seven participants relayed some of their most memorable experiences in Iowa. Those memories included hunkering down in their hotel with temperatures dropping to minus 20 outside, and seeing several prominent media members up close, including Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer. For those who followed the Elon contingent online while in Iowa, the students made an appearance on NBC News correspondent Morgan Radford’s Twitter feed as well.
Maeve Ashbrook ’22, a journalism major, said one of her most valued experiences was “getting to work with the political science majors and journalism people, which helped us bond not only through our tireless work, but as friends on a personal level.”
This was a common sentiment expressed among the panelists.
Landesberg, an associate professor of journalism and one of the leaders of the program, explained that “seeing this through (his students’) eyes is so special and different, and it’s something that you just can’t get in the classroom.”
Dalhouse, director for global experiential initiatives at Elon, also expressed his appreciation for the Winter Term program, explaining that it was an honor to provide the students the incredible experiential learning opportunity.
Through the Winter Term class, students were not only able to learn about the lengthy process that presidential candidates endure at the caucuses and in the primary elections, but they were also able to engage directly with several campaigns.
Political science students on the panel mentioned working for the campaigns of Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar. For the journalism majors who traveled to Iowa, they were able to choose to work with one of the major networks present at the caucuses or a local news station. These same students also reported on behalf of Elon News Network as well.
In addition to Ashbrook, Dalhouse and Landesberg, other panelists included Baylor Rodman ’22, Kara Chalifoux ’22, Jack Corby ’22 and Sallie Hardy ’22. The panel was coordinated and moderated by Andrea Sheetz ’22, who was also a part of the Winter Term class.
While in Iowa, members of the class maintained a travel blog highlighting some of their experiences in real time.