The Junior Class D.C Trip

On Friday, September 25th, 2026, two buses arrived at the lower lot. The Class of 2028 was waiting for them: they were going on a field trip to Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the history department, the juniors went to the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court building. What followed were many new experiences and learning opportunities. The class was split up into two large groups, each consisting of several smaller ones. One of the larger groups would go to the Library of Congress, and the other would go to the Supreme Court building. Then, the two groups would switch. “Knowing that we had more people than could comfortably fit at one time, that's why we had the Supreme Court...it was just a matter of how to make groups manageable,” commented Mr. Brooks Matthews ‘87, one of the trip’s organizers.

After a somewhat long bus ride to the District of Columbia, they split off into their groups and headed to the main attractions. Overall, it seemed to be a great experience, with many sites to experience, such as the Declaration’s Promise Exhibit, introduced for America’s 250th anniversary last July, and Jefferson’s Library. Along with activities at the Library of Congress, there were also enjoyable parts to the Supreme Court. “I think that seeing the interactive stations at the Supreme Court was really cool, where you could predict the outcome of the cases…it let you see the analytical process of the juries,” Shaurya Sevak ‘28 responded. Beyond the instructional aspect of the trip, it allowed for memorable community building within the junior class. “I thought being in pairs and groups was nice, as they allowed us to get to know each other well. Other than that, I enjoyed going to Union Station,” Mark Zagranichny ‘28 said. At Union Station, the students enjoyed their time winding down, socializing, and sampling food from a variety of restaurant chains in the food court to cap off their day of enrichment before heading back to the bus. 

One motivation behind this trip was Mr. Patrick Hastings, a former Gilman faculty member and Head of the English Department, who now works at the Library of Congress. He was the class’s tour guide for the Rare Books and Special Collections room. In there, students were given access to ink and quills to write on paper, an old printing press, and they were even able to see replicas of old relics, such as one of the first editions of the Latin Bible printed in North America, the Gutenberg Bible. 

Unfortunately, it was in this room where the problems arose. According to Mr. Matthews, “There were some things that were meant to be admired and not played with, some people thought everything was fair game, and some people scratched up a facsimile of an ancient artifact with ancient writing, and people put their initials and names in it.” Unfortunately, even though the items were facsimiles, and the students weren’t given direct instruction on what not to touch, the result was still vandalism of government property. “It crossed the line of being respectful of property, and it crossed the line of things meant to be admired and not used. And, in doing that, we made a mess of it, we did not return it in the same condition or better… and that put a sort of black mark on the trip there,” Mr. Matthews continued.  

As a result of the incident, Gilman School has been banned from the Library of Congress for at least the near future, and it is a sour note after not having many field trips in the Upper School to begin with. 

Still, the class of 2028 is owning up to this mistake, and reparations are being made for the Library. According to Class President Ronan Wrenn ‘28, “We are doing a donation, a meeting with Mr. Hastings himself, and an apology letter on behalf of the class.” In turn, even with this mishap, it was still a memorable trip and one that the junior class will cherish.