Zeldin Greets Students in D.C.

Eighth graders from the Montauk School accomplished something that many East Enders could not: They met Representative Lee Zeldin in person.

During the school’s annual trip to Washington, D.C., last week, the group of 40 students, 23 parents, and 4 teachers received a tour of the Capitol, culminating in a brief meeting with Representative Zeldin, whose district includes the South Fork.

On March 15, he talked with students and chaperons for about 20 minutes at the Capitol Visitors Center, said Brad Dickinson, who teaches social studies at the school. Mr. Dickinson has been overseeing the school’s eighth-grade trip to the nation’s capital for 34 years, and coordinated the meeting with Mr. Zeldin’s office in advance.

One student asked Mr. Zeldin if progress had been made on passing the new health care bill. He explained that it was in the process of going through several committees and amendments, and that only after that could it be approved. Another student pushed the question further, asking the congressman if he believed that the amended health care plan was good. According to Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Zeldin replied, “ ‘Yes, parts of it.’ ”

Asked by another student why he has not made himself more available to the public over the past few months, Mr. Zeldin told the group that, for now, he is concentrating on appearing at town hall meetings with small groups only.

The congressman has been under attack by his constituents for canceling town hall meetings this year and failing to appear at scheduled public meetings. According to a press release from his office, the reason for cancellations is that protesters “chose reprehensible tactics to harass attendees at an event the congressman was at, including banging on the sides of the cars driving by and jumping in front of cars to stop them.” Organizers of that event have disputed that characterization.

According to Mr. Dickinson, Montauk students were thrilled to have met with the congressmen and were grateful for his explanations of how Congress works and the details about his job.

The other highlight of the trip, he said, was a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery. Two eighth graders, Lily Greenwood and Nolan King, were chosen to place wreaths at the tomb, an experience that the teacher described as “very moving for all.”