For some students, Sept. 11 changed everything. Then there are others who refused to let it.

Among them are 30 Bruin undergrads who are participating in UCLA's Quarter in Washington Program this spring, despite what they saw on TV newscasts when the Pentagon was attacked or when the anthrax scare was at its height. Chosen through a highly selective screening process to fill coveted spots in this program, they count themselves fortunate to be enrolled in the oldest and most rigorous program of its kind in the UC system.

For these top students, being in Washington, as government leaders grapple with terrorism on different fronts, presents them with a golden opportunity, not a threat.

"Going to Washington right now opens up a tremendous learning opportunity for me: analyzing the history that is being made in our nation's capital," said communication studies major Cynthia Determan, a senior. "Prior to Sept. 11, there was a trend to minimize government and cut back on bureaucracy. But Sept. 11 changed the government's agenda to one that must provide security in this time of crisis."

Determan, who is in Washington this spring to intern in the office of Rep. David Dreier (R-Covina) and research government expansion that resulted after the attacks, is one of many Bruins in the program who have chosen to focus their research projects this quarter on Sept. 11-related topics. "Although the events that took place on Sept. 11 resulted in a lot of pain, I feel a lot of positive reforms have resulted," she said.

Administered by UCLA's Center for American Politics and Public Policy, the Quarter in Washington Program, now in its 12th year, provides undergraduates with a full-credit academic quarter, plus an internship every fall and spring in the federal government, a congressional com-mittee, museum, think tank, advocacy group or other organization. The students use this experience as the basis for an original research project, which they present at the end of the quarter.

Matthew Lunder

It's not just the students who benefit from the experience, said Joel D. Aberbach, director of UCLA's Center for American Politics and Public Policy and founder of the Washington program. The students "carry the imprimatur for the university and are ambassadors for us in Washington."

Previously, students lived in apartments in suburban Virginia and commuted into the city for classes or sightseeing.

"It's changed their whole essence," said Larry Berman of the UC Washington Center, which he, a UC Davis political science professor, directs. Students no longer have to commute 20 to 45 minutes on the Metro subway, nor take the Metro late at night. They grab a quick lunch or snack in their rooms -- equipped with full kitchens -- before heading off to the computer lab or a class.

Indeed, the building is like a miniature UC. While administrators pair students from the same campus as roommates, they mix students from different campuses together on each floor. Although security is tight, the atmosphere in the building is casual. It's not unusual to see students at work in the computer lab late at night wearing slippers, or wandering the halls in their pajamas. "This is their home," Berman emphasized. "There is no dress code. Even I come down to my office in slippers sometimes."

That blend of informality and accessibility "is really great," said philosophy major Melody Ehsani. "For the first time, I have been able to establish a relationship with my professor, and I feel that he cares about what we do."

James Desveaux was Ehsani's political science professor and is the head of the UCLA program in Washington. The program's selectivity guarantees that the students who are accepted are of the highest caliber, he said. "If you take students like that and spend the time to show them the expectations and road map for an empirical-research project, they're a quick study," Desveaux said. "It's remarkable."

Melody Ehsani

UCLA administrators are hoping to make the Quarter in Washington Program more appealing to students from other majors. There are plenty of opportunities, not just for political science majors, but also for students who are in the sciences or the arts, said Scott Waugh, UCLA's dean of social sciences.

"The program gives students an excellent opportunity to get firsthand experience, especially for those in majors related to policy and governance," said Waugh, who visited the students last fall. "But beyond political science students, we try to encourage students from all fields to participate. Washington has a lot to offer to students in the arts, communications and many other fields."

Waugh also wants faculty from many different disciplines to know that the welcome mat at the Washington Center is out for them as well. The program is trying to recruit faculty to teach there. "Now that the facility is up and running, we will be redoubling our efforts," he said.

In the meantime, the UC Washington Center is on its way to becoming a hub of intellectual life, with seminars, book readings and, perhaps in the future, press conferences in the facility's state-of-the-art auditorium.

Through his Director's Forum, Berman regularly brings in influential leaders and thinkers who have included Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego), Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten, Europe magazine editor-in-chief Robert Guttman and Australian Ambassador to the United States Michael Thawley.

From this wide-angle view of Washington extending beyond the Beltway, students envision for themselves the potential of careers in public service. As director Berman wrote in a message posted not long ago on the center's Web site:

"The events of September 11 have not dimmed our great vision for the future. Indeed, the very idea of public service has never been more important. For me personally, the words written on the seal of the University of California that are also inscribed above the front door of 1608 Rhode Island Avenue -- 'Let There Be Light' -- serve as a constant reminder not only of the future, but that young people like yourselves will help shape that world."