This summer, BAU International University’s Student Services director, Alexander Wilson, has led students on trips to various points of historical interest around D.C.
Old Town Alexandria
In July, students embarked on a trip to Old Town Alexandria (est. 1749), a city in Virginia known for its beautiful historic district and its setting on the banks of the Potomac River. Students enjoyed visiting historic sites and the city center’s unique shops and restaurants (pictured above). Alexandria, which is just north of George Washington’s home of Mount Vernon, was a part of the District of Columbia from 1791 to 1846, when city officials petitioned the return of the city to Virginia. This petition occurred in part because the D.C. government was moving toward the abolition of slavery, while white Alexandrians wanted to maintain the profitable Alexandria slave trading port. During the Civil War, however, Alexandria became known as a refuge for escaped slaves and free blacks after the city was captured by the Union army.
Library of Congress
This summer some of our students became card holding readers at the Library of Congress (pictured, in the Jefferson Building). Containing over 164 million items, the library is the world’s largest. The LOC was established in 1800 by President John Adams for the use by members of Congress. Its entire collection was burned by the British in 1814, leading former President Thomas Jefferson to sell his personal library of over 6,000 volumes as replacement. His collection is credited with expanding the library from purely political subjects to include topics such as cooking, philosophy, science, foreign languages, and world religions. The Jefferson Building was constructed in the 1880s and 1890s and is famous for its Beaux Arts architecture and its striking Main Reading Room. The LOC has been open to public use since 1939.
For more information about Student Services events, contact Alexander Wilson at [email protected].
