This past June, 11 students traveled with Provizer, who also directs Metro State's Golda Meir Center for Political Leadership, to the nation's capital to study American politics first hand. Drawing on his many connections, including Metro State alumni who work in the capital, Provizer was able to put together a tightly-packed two weeks of meetings, events, monuments and museums. The 15-hour days and the fact that Provizer believes that “you need to walk around to get the feel of the city” have earned the class the nickname “Norman’s Death March.”

“I’ve been doing this class every year since 1991,” says Provizer, “and it’s different every time. A lot of it is improvised, because you never know what will change at the last minute—last year Reagan’s funeral changed everything—but some of the basics are consistent.”

For instance, in June the class witnessed the handing down of Supreme Court decisions, as they’ve done in previous years, but then met with Justice Ruth Ginsberg, to whom they presented Metro State's Golda Meir Center Leadership Award. The students also met with Bill Pickle (’75, political science), the U.S. Senate Sergeant-at-Arms. “He was very open and generous with his time,” says Provizer, “especially given that he oversees the whole operation of the U.S. Senate and has 900 employees who report to him.”

Other Metro State alumni in the capital arranged more inside-access meetings: the class got to meet with Tommy Boggs, principal in the legal lobbying firm Patton Boggs, and attend a party at the Tunisian ambassador’s residence.

“I’d been to D.C. before as a tourist,” said student Stephen Noriega, “and we did see museums and monuments on this trip, mostly at night, but the things Dr. Provizer set up for us we could never do on any tour. The access was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. How often does a regular tourist get to go to a party at the Tunisian ambassador’s?”

Other trip highlights included meetings with the head of the business section of the Washington Post, the chief of global and public policy for the National Academies of Science, a division head at the World Bank, the White House liaison to the Energy Department and the founder of the National Council on U.S./Arab Relations. The class attended two beltway-based television show tapings, including one of the last taped shows of “Crossfire.” Students also met with Colorado leaders, including Rep. Joel Hefley and Sen. Ken Salazar at his first “Colorado breakfast” in the capitol building.

Provizer’s flexibility in dealing with the unexpected has been an asset. After the class got stuck in an elevator on their way to a lecture at the New American Foundation, a think tank, they received a round of applause. “I told the class, ‘This is your first trip to Washington and you’re already being applauded just for entering a room!’” says Provizer.