It’s been a pretty slow week in Washington — with Congress in recess, the rest of the kids want to go play, as well. We’re all looking forward to the Fourth and the attendant days of R-and-R (Aretha will be performing on the Mall, so my mom and sister and I are headed over to belt out R-E-S-P-E-C-T and laugh at my father’s dance moves).

In all seriousness, though, the Fourth’s a pretty good time to reflect on WHY the Public Service Academy and WHY now.  It was George Washington who first proposed the Academy, waaaay back when. And nearly every president has called American youth to service in one capacity or another. Building the Academy, fulfilling Washington’s dream, providing an outlet for sustained commitment to service — it’s the next step.  I’ll say it again: Get in touch with your Congressman or Rep. Write a letter to the editor. Let them know why the Academy is a good thing.

Until Monday, enjoy your barbeques! And take this quiz — you’ll love it. 

And, of course, mid-year resolutions means midyear goals. For July 2009-December 2009 we would like to:
1.) Get the bill dropped in the Senate
2.) Hold hearings on the bill in the House
3.) Earn more endorsements and op-eds

What do you think about our goals? Want to help us reach them? Email me at Schwenk@uspublicserviceacademy.org to find out what’s the best way to help out.

Also, schedule an appointment to visit your rep at home this week! They’re all back in their districts to celebrate the Fourth, and now is great time to meet with them.

Seriously. West Point’s applicant pool went up 9.6 percent, the Naval Academy’s pool increased by 40 percent, the Air Force Academy’s went up by almost 10 percent. That’s thousands more high-school seniors vying to join the military academies, and an increase double of that at Harvard. 

The reasons the Times cited are complex: the recession made students and families more cognizant of the costs of college; a surge in patriotism and the desire to serve; the cooling of tensions in Iraq; even a better advertising campaign spearheaded by the military.

The second two don’t really apply to USPSA, but the economic and patriotic lines of reasoning were the most-supported in explaining the increase. These are the most abiding and most applicable. These numbers show where thousands of students in the U.S. are at–wanting to serve their country, but also cognizant of the economic reality. This year, it’s manifesting itself in increased military-service-academy applications. In a few years, once the bill passes, we’re confident that it will show in the number of students from all over the country applying to the Academy. 

This brings us to 49 sponsors overall. Sounds like a lot, but remember, there are 435 members of the House–and let’s not even get started on the Senate. We’ve still got a climb ahead. Please remember to get in contact with your representative or senator to let her or him know that you support the Academy! 

I started to think about military service and how the word sacrifice cannot even begin to capture the depth of commitment enlisted men and women and officers make for people they don’t even know.  I’d venture to guess that many of them don’t even grasp the weight of their decision when they enlist, or join the Reserve or pursue the goal of getting into one of the military academies.  And yet, there they find themselves, thousands of miles away in harm’s way, and with a country at home that largely doesn’t know or understand what is going on for them.

In one of the coolest moments of the Colbert Report’s shows, Colbert was joined on stage by Command Sargent Major Frank Grippe, the highest enlisted man in the Army and an imposing one at that!  Colbert asked him to command the troops to “put their right hand in” and of course Grippe was on to Colbert and his hokey-pokey shenanigans in about two seconds.  Instead, he lead them in the Army fight song, which they all sang loud and proud and yes, I totally teared up.

It was at this moment that I realized what some people may not be getting about the importance of our desire to create a US Public Service Academy and it is the culture of service that can only be fostered in a campus atmosphere.  Seeing the troops all together, knowing they had all endured the same kind of basic training, the same types of discipline that fosters respect for themselves and the mission, seeing their focus on Cmd Sgt Major Grippe, I knew in that moment how critical it is to have a campus dedicated to the training of civil service leaders.  No amount of scattered scholarship programs across random public policy schools can replace the culture and commitment that an Academy will foster and we only need look at our Armed Forces to see the success we have created there.  So put your right hand in, and give thumbs up to the USPSA!

It is time to offer this opportunity to our young leaders, and to do it from the top down.  Please email your Representative and Senators NOW and tell them to support and pass the US Public Service Academy Act THIS YEAR.  Links are on our home page!

This Sunday, we held our Sitar Yoga event, and it was such a success! The soft words of yoga instructor Kat Archana encouraged us to stretch and relax our bodies and minds as Thievery Corporation’s Rob Myers (bit of trivia: he and Chris are brothers!) provided a peaceful, open atmosphere with his calming sitar chords.  The beautiful room in Josephine Butler Parks Center, an old mansion overlooking Meridian Hill Park, was filled with participants from all over the DC area.  We gathered to spread awareness and raise funds for the Academy.

Chris opened the event with an introduction explaining the Academy’s goals, and then Kat began the yoga session with chants, stretches and breathing exercises.  As the time passed, a deep calm fell over the room and participants were actively engaged in pushing their bodies and shaking off stress.  After the session, we requested donations and reiterated the mission of the Academy.  Lauren Schreiber played acoustic guitar as several participants stayed afterward to chat and to network, and some spoke with Chris and I to learn more about the Academy.  While we didn’t raise as much money as we had hoped, participants enjoyed themselves and learned a bit about the Academy.  We will follow up with the participants this week, and we hope that they will spread the word and volunteer for us in the future!

I read an interesting article here  that reflected what I’ve noticed, both at school and in my first few weeks of Washington (and, let it be known: I go to Penn, where the Wharton School is, and everybody and their roommate thinks about a Wall Street career).

Basically, the gist of the article is that Washington is now cooler than Wall Street.  Students would rather work in D.C., or go to public-policy graduate school, than barrel down the Wall Street track and earn an MBA.  Based on my (admittedly moderate-to-liberal, politically attuned, socially conscious, super-passionate-about-something) circle of friends and acquaintances, this is true. The center of the universe had shifted down the Eastern seaboard, as phrases like “social entrepreneurship,” “fair trade,” “microfinance,” and “global education” entered the lexicon.

Part of it, of course, is the Obama Effect. Part of it is that it’s really, really unappealing to work in an industry as decimated as the finance sector, and part of it is that public-service work is relatively stable, even in a period with such a high unemployment rate (if you think 9.4% overall is bad, check out the situation for recent college grads).  But there’s more — there’s the desire to help and to give back, to pay it forward, to make a positive impact on the community. 

This is why it’s such a crucial time to create the Public Service Academy.  The article posits that this will lead to a sea change as more and more students decide to enter public service.  What better way to help students out than to create the Academy? 

           This week — as the weather alternated between flash flooding and the kind of sweltering, sweaty temperatures that makes the heat devils dance — four new interns took refuge in the U.S. Public Service Academy’s office space at 13^th and I streets in D.C. While our window unfortunately does not overlook the gorgeous park where we picnic at lunchtime (sadly, we look into another office building) we’re all definitely very happy to be here.

            For the next seven and a half weeks, we’ll be helping Chris get the message about the Public Service Academy out, hopefully gaining endorsements and co-sponsors along the way.  Ben, a recent graduate of Lewis & Clark and an Arizona native, will be working as the government relations intern, trekking all across the Hill to talk to Congresspeople and their staffs about the Academy.  Melissa, from the D.C. area and a rising junior at WashU, will be handling special projects, like the planning of this weekend’s Sitar Yoga event (2 p.m. Sunday at the Josephine Butler Parks Center at 2437 Fifteenth Street NW). Nicole, our through-and-through Texan, will be handling outreach and education — working with Chris to earn endorsements and talking to groups and foundations about the mission of the Academy. And I — Alyssa, a soon-to-be-senior at Penn from Iowa — will be handling communication. I’ll be the one usually updating this blog, and I’ll also be writing op-eds, press releases, and getting the message and the mission of the Academy out there.

Can’t wait to get to know all of you!