University of Wisconsin–Madison

Washington, DC: Global Gateway Summer 2026 (A Day in the Life 2)

Program: UW Global Gateway in Washington, DC, Summer

Ty C: Our Global Classroom 

We have one major classroom in the Global Gateway program in the United Methodist Building. The United Methodist Building is the only non-government building on Capitol Hill, and it’s a place where all religions can be accepted. On the first floor, there is a sentence that states, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

The specific place we have class is in the Wisconsin in Washington office. Our class is in this meeting room with this long business meeting table. Professor Gangl sits at the front while she lectures, and asks us for our personal opinions about the topic being discussed, or sometimes it can get off topic. The only time we had class in another area other than UMB ( United Methodist Building) was at the MLK Library in one of the conference rooms. This looked like your typical UW classroom, like from Van Hise or Vilas.

An oval room with white walls and oval designs in white molding all the way around. There is black text on the wall close to the ceiling reading "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God"
The quote I mentioned earlier
A patch of grass with yellow and white flowers in front of a small sign with letters slid in. The sign reads "Pursue peace not war"
A sign outside the building stating “pursue peace, not war”

The classroom outside of traditional walls looks like museums, excursions across D.C., looking at murals and statues left behind for famous American figures, etc. Places like the African American Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Holocaust Museum. These places across D.C. give us the opportunity to learn without having to be in a classroom, but by giving us hands on experience with history. Tours we’ve had like in the Capitol and Supreme Court have showed us how Government works from the past, present, and future. These can be more helpful rather than sitting in lecture, because it gives us time to learn at our own pace, these experiences that I’ve had here have helped me a lot in showing D.C. honors and contributes to the education of people from all ages. 

Kennedy S: Learning on Excursions

Previous to and upon my arrival to Washington, DC for the Global Gateway Study Abroad program, I was ecstatic to know we would eventually visit the National Museum for African American History. Unfortunately, what I noticed when visiting the museum I was disheartened, but not surprised. In class we mention how now politics are more polarized than they ever have been and this skyrocketed within the past two decades. Your political stance is now a foundation of your identity, in contrast to an anonymous stance. We happened to visit the National Museum for African American History after visiting the Museum of the History of the Holocaust the day prior. The key differences I noticed contribute to the emotions I experienced as I walked through a museum dedicated to my community and our history.

When walking through the Holocaust museum there was a sense of reliving the past and going through the story that made you sit in your thoughts and truly process what you are taking in, that is what I had hoped for the African American Museum. I believe that the difference in energy is in part due to the fact that the Holocaust has a clear figure and group to take blame while for African Americans the blame is more widespread and stereotypes, biases, and discrimination are issues we still face today.

An exhibit in a museum with green backgrounds on writing and behind the artifacts. On top is a tan sign reading "I'm Black and I'm Proud." - James Brown. Below is a purple dress on display and a hair comb among writing.
Be proud of the culture, but dont forget the history Image
A museum exhibit showing an illustration of enslaved Black individuals holding fans for a white man and carrying things towards him. Real artifacts are on display below the image, a collar, a jug and other small things. There is writing in the front with a heading "Trading to be Traded"
Don’t forget the roots that build the foundation we stand on

With this in mind we are not yet at a place where as a country, citizens are ready to take accountability for the past instead of dismissing it. This connects to class because as we censor ourselves and the true nature of the past for Black people we are contributing to the polarization in the country. African Americans will always feel ostracized, and Europeans will want to not acknowledge the time and to show the real history people in power have to accept backlash from their own communities and that is not a conversation they are educated to have.

Censorship is a huge issue in this country and not only within my history, but also with AI and social media, two of the most prevalent things today.  Both platforms contribute to polarization by reinforcing existing beliefs. AI systems learn from online information that contain biases, while social media algorithms often promote extreme content making it harder for people to encounter balanced perspectives to challenge their own assumptions. Together all factors contribute to a divided society.