Forty-one University of Maine Honors College students just happened to pick a probably wartime weekend for a trip to Washington, D.C. Reached by cell phone Wednesday afternoon as their bus had just crossed the Hudson river on the Tappan Zee bridge and was heading down the Garden State Parkway, they were busy with books and laptops, doing their homework due when spring break ends on Monday.

When the trip was being put together, through the generosity of an Honors College alumna and her husband, many of the 500 students in the elite university unit already had made other plans for spring break. That was a good thing, because space on the bus was limited to about 40. A few more than that signed up, but two backed out when reminded that wartime in the nation’s capital might be risky.

Emily Cain, the staff associate in charge of the trip, had checked ahead to see whether government offices and museums and other tourist attractions would be open. She reported from the bus that the answer was, “We can’t make the decision for you, but you will be welcome.”

A 1971 Honors College alumnus, Charles Stanhope, acting director of development for the Library of Congress, had arranged for a Thursday afternoon private tour of the library. That evening the students will play host to a reception in the library’s Montpelier Dining Room for former and prospective UMaine students and prospective students and friends of Maine.

The Friday schedule called for a tour of Sen. Susan Collins’ office, a tour of the Pentagon (latest word was that it was still on, since officials like to show that they can conduct business as usual), and a performance of the Capitol Steps in the Ronald Reagan Building. Saturday is an open day for the students and five staff members to see the sights in Washington before boarding the bus Sunday morning for the 12-to-14-hour bus ride back to Orono.

The Honors College is a community of about 500 students and almost 100 faculty members. It combines the close working relationship with faculty members as in the best small colleges with the wide choice of majors and opportunities for original scholarship of a large research university.

The Washington trip is just one of the special experiences provided by the Honors College. The curriculum features frequent honors lectures and honors courses, small classes of 12 to 15 students, exploration of academic topics in depth, development of critical inking and independent scholarship.

Education must serve everybody. The Honors College provides special opportunities for students who are highly motivated and enthusiastic. The end result is a stream of potential future leaders in all manner of careers -with a bias, it is hoped, toward living and working here in Maine.