Tuesday, November 6, 2001

TCU student leaving D.C. internship early
By Aaron Chimbel
Staff Reporter

Senior finance major Sally Spencer hoped to learn about the legislative process as an intern in Congresswoman Kay Granger’s Washington office this semester, but the events of Sept. 11 and subsequent anthrax scares have her packing to come home.

Initially, Spencer said her job would be to assist the staff in sorting constituents’ mail. After anthrax scares, mail service slowed and eventually came to a halt, she said.

“The whole aspect of my job, little by little, dissolved,” Spencer said.

Spencer said she works in the Cannon House office building one block from another Capitol building, connected via tunnels. During last month’s anthrax scares in Washington, Spencer said she was worried about her safety.

Spencer said she is leaving because she wants to get out of Washington and since TCU gave her the opportunity to come home, she took it.

She said she hopes to work at Granger’s office in Fort Worth for the remainder of the semester. No other intern she knows is coming home early, she said.

Washington Internship Liaison Valerie Martinez said she called and e-mailed all 10 students in the internship program to allow them to come home if they did not feel safe in Washington.

“If they need to come home for security reasons, then they can,” Martinez said.

Spencer said she was able to keep busy because Granger’s office organized a project to have all 535 members of the 107th Congress sign a 3 foot by 5-foot flag with a matted border.

“My job was chasing people down and getting people’s signatures,” she said. “We had some drive by signings.”

The flag will be auctioned with the proceeds going to charity, Spencer said. She said this is the first time the entire Congress has signed one document. For security reasons, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were unable to sign the flag, she said.

Spencer said she got 10 days off work last month due to the anthrax scares. Granger sent the interns home because working was not that crucial, Spencer said. She said she did not get tested for anthrax and is not taking antibiotics.

“I had no exposure or possible exposure that I know of,” Spencer said.

She said Granger expressed concern with her safety and even called her parents. Spencer said her parents let her decide if she wanted to stay in Washington.

“I think they felt a little anxiety, as I did,” Spencer said.

Aaron Chimbel
a.a.chimbel@student.tcu.edu