Ironwood students to attend Trump inauguration

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood — A group of Ironwood students will be on hand to see the beginning of the Trump administration as it travels to the nation’s capital to attend the inauguration ceremony.

Twenty-six students in grades nine through 12 will go with social studies teacher Gordon Erickson and two other chaperones to Washington D.C. for a three-day trip.

The trip is organized through WorldStrides Discoveries Programs, Erickson said, explaining the company reached out to him about the opportunity to attend the inauguration.

This is the first time Erickson has taken students on a trip like this.

“Twenty-seven years of teaching, I’ve never done any kind of a school trip. So I figured, ‘This sounds interesting,’” Erickson said. “I’ve never been to D.C., I’m ashamed to say, so I’m dying to go.”

The students land in Washington D.C., Jan. 19 and return to Ironwood Jan. 21.

Upon arriving in the city, the students will be joined by a group of students from Heritage High School in Georgia.

Erickson explained the company tries to have at least 30 students on a trip, meaning smaller groups are sometimes merged together.

In addition to attending the ceremony, the planned itinerary include tours of the various monuments and memorials, as well as a tour of The Mall and Arlington National Cemetery.

Trump’s unexpected victory has made the field trip somewhat unusual, as the students signed up long before the election.

“(They signed up for) this a year-and-a-half ago, that’s when all the polls were saying ‘Hillary, Hillary, Hillary,’” Erickson said.

Almost all the Ironwood students indicated to the Daily Globe they had wanted Clinton to win the election, with at least a couple saying they would like to take part in protesting the inauguration.

Regardless of their feelings on the election’s outcome, all said they were excited for the opportunity to witness the historic moment.