Author: mikeyawn

Mike Yawn teaches at Sam Houston State University. In the past few years, he has taught courses on Politics & Film, Public Policy, the Presidency, Media & Politics, Congress, Statistics, Research & Writing, Field Research, and Public Opinion. He has published academic papers in the Journal of Politics, Political Behavior, Social Security Quarterly, Film & History, American Politics Review, and contributed a chapter to the textbook Politics and Film. He also contributes columns, news analysis, and news stories to newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, Huron Daily Tribune, Laredo Morning Times, Beaumont Enterprise, Connecticut Post, and Midland Reporter Telegram. Yawn is also active in his local community, serving on the board of directors of the local YMCA and Friends of the Wynne. Previously, he served on the Huntsville's Promise and Stan Musial World Series Boards of Directors. In 2007-2008, Yawn was one of eight scholars across the nation named as a Carnegie Civic Engagement Scholar by the Carnegie Foundation.

Fun, Fundraising, and Football

The bi-partisanship spirit started with the fundraising and the weekly practices. It continued with donations from both the Democratic and Republican parties of Walker County. Even the coin for the coin toss featured George Washington, the father of the country, the man who pre-dates either party. Officiating over the coin toss was former Mayor Mac Woodward, a man who won six elections on a non-partisan ballot.

It was a stage set for both Republicans and Democrats to have fun while raising funds for worthy causes: the Huntsville YMCA and the John Holcombe Scholarship.

There was no Goodyear Blimp on hand, but there was a drone. Handling official photography duties, Paul Olle brought out his drone to get some “over-the-top” photographs–literally. It was Blue and Orange together.

DCIM101MEDIA — Pre-Game Photograph (by Paul Olle)

That togetherness extended even to prayer.

Of course with several players in their forties, prayer was needed.

And, with that, it was kickoff time. It was a game that emphasized offense, and almost every player got into the act, although at first it seemed like it might turn into the Ryan Show…

Ryan_Catching_1_Web — Paul Olle Photograph

…or the Laken Show…

After a series of catches and pursuits, the two started becoming aggressive, with Ryan grabbing shorts…

Laken_Running_3_Ryan_Shorts_Web — Paul Olle Photography

…Laken grabbing shirts…

…and, when Ryan couldn’t get close enough to grab, he just yelled…

The big boys soon got into the act, with many long passes ensuing.

Joey had some particularly nice catches…

…and he let people know…

Joey_Running_5_Ball_Web — Paul Olle Photograph

Taylor Martin got into the act, using his size and speed…

Taylor_Running_1_Web — Paul Olle Photography

… and leaping ability…

…to help the Orange team.

It goes without saying that Austin was all over the field…

Austin_Catching_4_Web — Paul Olle Photography

Often with no one else around him!

Or, if someone was around him, they were usually behind him.

Austin_Running_5_Taylor_Web — Paul Olle Photography

As a student, Cameron was known for his steady, consistent, and reliable ways. He’s much the same on the football field, and he was occasionally charged with covering Austin or, if not Austin, then Joey. But at least once they were trying to cover him…

But with a total of 22 touchdowns scored, there was plenty of offensive action to go around. Margaret caught a few balls…

..and Megan caught about as many passes as anyone else on game day.

And even had a breakaway run.

Russell Martinez got his share of the action.

Russell_Running_2_Web — Paul Olle Photography

…despite opponents using unfair tactics to contain him.

But there is no containing Russell.

Russell_Close_Up_Web — Paul Olle Photography

Kaitlyn had some action, too…

…although not always with positive results.

But she kept her game face on!

Kaitlyn_Profile_Web — Paul Olle Photography

She needed her game face, because she was covering Alex Galvan!

Galvan caught her share in the first half…

But it was the second half when she turned it on. Indeed, it was the last two minutes of the game that proved most exciting.

Down 10-8, the Orange team battled back, with Alex scoring on a long run.

Then, with a 10-9 lead, the Blue team had the ball with less than 2 minutes. A score would put it out of reach. A sustained drive would run out the clock. But a fumble, recovered by Ryan…

…kept the crowd on the edge of their seats…

…and the fumble recovery led to a touchdown by Taylor and, like that, Orange tied the game.

With only 30 seconds left, Blue failed to score, pushing the game to overtime. Our overtime was improvised–no plans had ever been much for such a contingency, and it had never happened.

The City Planner suggested two possessions, each starting at the 50.

With that agreed, Orange got the ball first. And in the only possession allowed Orange in its overtime, Alex Galvan catches a touchdown. It was her first over-the-shoulder catch of the year.

…and it was a patented Galvan Finger-Tip grab.

Alex_Catching_TD_2_Web — Paul Olle Photography

For perhaps the first time in the game, Blue was behind. They had one possession to tie the game, and it ended as suddenly as it began, with a bomb to Joey Johnson for touchdown.

It was a fun game, one that designed to bring people together. Perhaps it didn’t bring as many people out as we would have liked, but it succeeded in raising funds for the Holcombe Scholarship…

Check_Presentation_Holcombe_2_Web — Paul Olle Photography

…and the YMCA…

Check_Presentation_YMCA_4_Web — Paul Olle Photography

…and in uniting folks with different backgrounds to common cause….

…and a lot of fun…

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Legal Advice from the Top

For the 2nd time in a year, the LEAP Center Ambassadors met with–and gained valuable advice from–former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

It was also the 2nd time that LEAP Ambassador Austin Campbell had the honor of introducing Gonzales.

And there was a lot to cover in the introduction: Gonzales was the first Hispanic partner at Vinson and Elkins, one of the largest law firms in the US and the largest in Texas. He was then appointed by President Bush to the Texas Supreme Court. When Bush won the Presidency, he asked Gonzales to be White House counsel. When Bush was re-elected, Gonzales was appointed as US Attorney General.

But last week, he was an advisor to LEAP Ambassadors by morning and advisor to Dr. Heather Evans’ Political Science class by afternoon.

In both sessions, he opened with a video of his time in the White House. With soaring music, patriotic symbols of the US, and some of the premier leaders of the last 20 years, it was a stirring video. It was a fitting accompaniment for what General Gonzales called the “best place I’ve ever worked.”

In both meetings, he hit on interesting topics, particularly for those interested in POLS or pre-law:

Advising the President on Law: It’s not intimidating. The President took my advice on the legal aspects of matters. If a policy was illegal, it was the end of discussion. But if it was legal, the President typically relied on other advisors for the wisdom of such policies.
The Hours in the White House: You work 7am-8pm on weekdays, significant hours on Saturday, and you work many Sundays. You need an understanding spouse to work in the White House, and the pay isn’t great, but it’s an honor.

Ethnicity and Success: I think race has helped me at times and hurt me at times. Some people rooted against me to become the first minority partner in my law firm. But President Bush also explicitly said that my ethnicity was a factor in picking me for the Supreme Court of Texas. Texas has a significant Hispanic population, and he wanted that fact reflected on the Supreme Court.
Merrick Garland and a Senate Vote: Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland deserves a vote by the US Senate. A senator can vote for or against according to the dictates of his or her own conscience, but the nominee deserves a vote and the public deserves to know how each senator voted. (This point was particularly appropriate in Dr. Evans’ US Congress class, in which we were covering Legislative-Executive relations).
Working in the White House: It was “great.” I didn’t miss a day because of illness, because I wanted to be there and had much work to do. It was an honor every day to go into work.

Gonzales also provided career-specific advice. He encouraged us to open up as many doors as possible, noting that you never know when a person in a position of power might be paying attention to who is and who isn’t working hard and worthy of additional opportunities.

With these words of encouragement in mind, the LEAP Ambassadors headed off to their classes, to study, or to their LSAT Prep Courses, hoping for additional opportunities!

The LEAP Center would like to thank Colonel David Yebra for arranging these meetings!

Appeals on Wheels: 10th COA Rolls into SHSU

If it’s spring, it’s time for the 10th Court of Appeals to hear four cases at Sam Houston State University. This year’s cases proved remarkably diverse, and students received a live, up-close education on the application of the law.

The 10th Court of Appeals first came to SHSU six years ago, in 2011. It was the brain-child of Chief Justice Tom Gray, and his colleagues Justice Al Scoggins and Justice Rex Davis enthusiastically agreed to come to Sam Houston. Professor Mike Yawn and the group “formerly known as the Junior Fellows” soon got into the act, and there has been much legal fun since then.

The education isn’t only watching the cases in action; it’s also seeing the courtroom procedure unfold. From the “All Rise, Oyez, Oyez, Oyez”

…to Justice Gray’s explanations of courtroom decorum…

…to the attorneys, who are able (only in this setting) to explain the facts of the case to us…

…to watching the attorneys’ behavior outside the courtroom…

..the education is unique–and that’s before we even talk about the cases!

Speaking of which, this year’s cases ran the legal gamut. The 10am session (Capstone v. IES Contracting) actually involved SHSU, with the University believing that construction of Sam Houston Village was faulty. This was a complex case, one involving multiple subcontractors, mergers, and much elapsed time.

The 11am session (Annette Knopf and Stanley Gray v. William and Karen Gray) involved a disputed will, which had been written by Ms. Vada Allen. She left property to her son, but confusion resulted from her will. In particular, there was a question as to whether some of the property was a life estate–that is, given to her son for his lifetime–or whether he had outright ownership. This was not only an interesting legal situation, but also a good life lesson about the difficulty of writing your own will. (Interestingly, this case involved the legal firm for which Kaitlyn Tyra works as a courier.)

As has become our custom, the Justices broke for lunch, and we were able to join them, along with other legal professionals in the community. Just before we ate, Justice Tom Gray presented Professor Yawn with a signed copy of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s autobiography, a nice touch to a nice day.

Also nice was the lunch conversation…

…which touched on school issues, our hopefulness about our legal careers, and the cases of the day.

Following lunch, we again worked the doors for the two most interesting cases. The 1pm (in re Troy Paul) session involved Troy Paul and Destiny Spillers, who may or may not have been informally married. They weren’t formally married, but Destiny argued that their relationship constituted a “common-law” marriage, which entitled her to spousal support–support, that is, beyond the $250,000 Mercedez that she was bought by Mr. Paul. The case involves not only the question of support, but also of legal fees to the tune of $425,000.

The final case of the day (Noe Cosino v. The State of TX) involved the cutting-edge issue of a blood draw in the absence of a warrant. The courts have previously held that such draws could be made in “exigent circumstance,” but more recent decisions have blurred the lines.

Following the cases, we spent a little more time with the Justices, taking photos and asking them to sign the case descriptions.

It was a fun morning and afternoon, a wonderful in-depth education for the LEAP Ambassadors, and for more than 200 SHSU students, a nice exposure to our legal system.

The CIA and FBI come to SHSU: Philip Mudd

After an exciting evening at Let’s Talk, the LEAP Center’s guest speakers and students began what would prove to be another eventful day filled with learning. Philip Mudd, former deputy director of the CIA Counterterrorist Center and FBI National Security Branch, spoke to students Friday morning on: how to catch terrorists, current events in the world of terror, and advice on how to prepare for a successful career.

Additionally Mr. Mudd briefly discussed his book, The Head Game: High Efficiency Analytic Decision-Making and the Art of Solving Complex Problems Quickly, which teaches readers how to effectively sort and analyze the mass amount of information thrown at us by society.

Mr. Mudd started working for the CIA in 1985, and he continued in government service through 2010. He worked for both the CIA and FBI, and his specialties were Asia and the Middle East. His work there brought him expertise not only in these regions and in intelligence gathering but also in decision-making processes.

Although his lecture was brief, Mr. Mudd packed in quality advice and insight to his career. Mr. Mudd spoke about strategies on how to catch terrorists and answered questions about current events relating to terrorism. The best take-away for students, though, were his life tips for success.

Although he offered numerous, the top three were to 1. read every day (and all the time!), 2. write every day, and 3. speak in front of audiences. As an honorable mention, he also emphasized the importance of working with people you don’t like.

Doing each will help students enhance their communication skills, which is a large part of many careers. Mr. Mudd also stressed finding a passion to do something you love. If you love what you are doing, you can enjoy your job.

Mr. Mudd actively engaged his audience throughout the entire lecture and students listened intently to his advice.

Once Mr. Mudd finished speaking, students also had the opportunity to ask questions and to get their books signed. We are thankful for the opportunities to learn from top leaders in the country! Thank you to Mr. Mudd for speaking to SHSU students!

Learning Photography from “A Modern-Day Ansel Adams”

President George H. W. Bush referred to photographer Mark Burns as a “modern-day Ansel Adams” and, judging from the 59 photos included in the National Parks Photography Project, the former president was spot on.

Burns conceived of the project about 6 years ago, developing a plan to photograph all 59 parks in Black and White. After putting together an advisory committee, Burns embarked on a trek that took him to parks in 27 states plus American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands. Although a handful of photographers have captured the beauty of the park system in color, Burns is the only photographer to shoot all 59 parks in Black and White.

(Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington) — (Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington–Mark Burns)

The exhibit opened at the Bush Presidential Library in 2015, and it opened with a splash. Ken Burns was there.

President Bush was there.

Burns_Presentation_Stage_2_Web — President Bush (far left) watches Mark Burns, Ken Burns, and Fred McClure

And Mark Burns, with his 59 photographs, were on display.

The LEAP Ambassadors were on hand for that event, and we had the chance to meet Mr. Burns.

Even more fortunately, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum was able to schedule Burns’ exhibit for March, April, and May, and the LEAP Ambassadors were able to volunteer for the opening. Although the Bush Library certainly is majestic, the Walker Education Center held its own. For one, you can see Burns’ 25 foot panorama of the Grand Canyon when you walk into the foyer.

Moreover, when you walk into the gallery space, you see all 59 parks at once. It’s almost overwhelming, but the gallery also has enough space to allow individuals to get up close to the photographs, and that’s exactly what the attendees did.

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One of the virtues of the event was that Burns spoke with dozens of people individually, answering questions about his equipment, the logistics of getting to a spot, or interesting facts about the parks.

There were also several student groups who showed up and asked for an interview with Mr. Burns…

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And Kyle and Robin Britt were on hand from Houston.

Kyle is a member of Mr. Burns’ advisory committee. He has seen all 59 National Parks, and his wife, Robin, has seen approximately three dozen of the parks.

Toward the evening, a core group got together for a photograph…

…and then we headed to dinner at 1836 Steakhouse, which we really can’t say enough good things about.

It’s not often you get to learn from true experts in fields and learn in an up-close and personal fashion. Last night was one of those opportunities, and we learned a lot about photography, but also about the National Park System, planning and organizing projects, and the environment.

We’ll have a chance to see Mr. Burns again tonight at “Let’s Talk.” His table sold out quickly, so we weren’t able to get seats, but we’ll get to see him again, and we have two more months to make repeat visits to the Walker Education Center to see his amazing photographs.

Advanced Politics: County Conventions

After all kinds of hands-on political education in the last few weeks, we took another step forward by participating in our parties’ County Conventions.

This is a process that is a mystery for most folks, even those who vote, and we walked into it not knowing the exact process. To be a participant, you have to vote in your party’s primary. Three of us participated in the Republican Primary. One of our fellow POLS majors, Heather Robbins, voted in the Democratic primary, and she served as a delegate to the Democratic County Convention.

Whatever the party, the process is similar. Local parties (county parties) establish a date for the precinct and the county convention. The precinct conventions consist of whoever shows up, as long as they voted in their party’s primary from that precinct.

At the precinct convention, which can consist of anywhere between 1 and 40 or so people, the delegates submit resolutions (e.g., “We support a living wage for all working Americans”) and elect a slate of delegates to the county convention. The number of delegates that each convention can elect is determined by the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election from each precinct.

Once a slate of delegates is elected, those people are welcome to attend the county convention, which is where we–Republicans and Democrats–spent our Saturday on March 19 (Democrats at the Walker Education Center; Republicans at the HEARTS Veterans Museum).

The county conventions are a bit more intense.

They are divided into the following committees (which some of us served on for the Republican Convention and Heather served on the Nominations Committee in the Democratic Convention), and which conduct the business of the conventions:

Permanent Committee–sets permanent committee officers
Credentials–ensures that only duly elected delegates are given voting privileges for each convention
Rules–determines whether convention should deviate from default rules for speaking
Nominations–reviews nominations for delegates and alternates to State Convention
Platform–synthesizes the resolutions into clear and discrete resolutions to be voted on by the entire convention

It was a great learning experience for all of us! We arrived a couple of hours early for committee work and setup…

…and once we began, the entire process took about 3.5 hours, which we were told was quicker than usual.

The nominations committee elected 25 delegates and 2 alternates to the State Convention. The permanent committee elected Judge Sorensen as Permanent Chair, Stephanie Fors as Secretary, and Earl Carter as Parliamentarian.

The platform committee came up with 23 different resolutions which were voted on, most of which passed.

Republican_Convention_Thomas_Speaking_2_Web — Thomas Leeper Advocates Against A Resolution

In the end Alex Galvan, Megan Chapa, and Kaitlyn Tyra were elected to the Republican Convention which is held May 12-14 in Dallas, TX.

On the Democratic side, POLS major Heather Robbins was elected to the State Convention, which is held in San Antonio, TX, June 16-18.

LULAC and LEAP

Although it was the first day of Spring Break, LEAP ambassadors were happy to attend 2016 League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Community Amigo Award Scholarship Banquet. Upon arrival, Brian and I were welcomed by John Escobedo, the President of Huntsville LULAC Council.

As we proceeded to take our seats, we found Former Mayor Mac Woodward, Mrs. Woodward, County Judge Pierce, and his wife Mrs. Pierce, and we were invited to join their table.

The program began with the performance of ballet folklorico, the local dance group directed by Anita Escobedo.

While we enjoyed dinner, Mr. Escobedo introduced the special guests of the night. Among those guests were Mayor Brauninger, Former Mayor Woodward, Council member Montgomery, County Judge Pierce, and Attorney Robert Cates, who was also the keynote speaker for the night.

Mr. Cates is an immigration attorney in Conroe who recently graduated from Baylor Law School. During his presentation he focused on educating the audience in the recent immigration reform by President Obama.

The presentation was followed by the awards presentation. We were excited to accept the Educator of the Year Award, which was given to the LEAP Center, largely for its annual “Citizenship Preparatory Course”–which, incidentally, begins tonight!

We were also happy to hear that Former Mayor Woodward received the Citizen of the Year Award(his second this year!)…

…and The Walker County Federal Credit Union received Business of the Year Award. In all it was a great event that allowed us to participate with another great organization!

Egg-Hunting on Easter Weekend

One of our favorite annual events is the Easter Egg Hunt at the Wynne Home Arts Center. It involves games, face-painting, and a picnic lunch of hot dogs, which are a whole lot of fun for local families.

This year, more than 200 people came out to the Wynne Home, a number that proved a bit overwhelming to us, especially when they arrived early. Planned by LEAP Ambassador and Wynne Home Intern Beatriz Martinez, we had Musical Chairs…

…Sack Races…

…an Egg-Toss game, face painting (thank-you Lauren Clay!), sidewalk chalk…

…and coloring. We had a great group of Friends of the Wynne on hand, including Patti Davis, Mary McCarley, Wes Boyd, Susan Sanders, Maureen McIntyre, and Buddy Aber. Political Science major Sadie McLaughlin was also nice enough to stop by and help, doing at least five separate tasks over the course of the event!

As much as there was to do, the kids wanted more. Accordingly, we incorporated photos with the Easter Bunny…

…and numerous activities with Sammy Bearkat…

…who occasionally stole the spotlight from the Easter Bunny, even on Easter…

As exciting as those activities were, the kids came to the Wynne Home to hunt for eggs, and they let that be known!

At noon, we kicked off the Easter Egg hunt–more than 1,000 eggs, strewn about the Wynne Home Arts Center. You may have heard stories about shoppers getting into fights on black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Those folks have nothing on kids at the beginning of an Easter Egg Hunt.

The hunt lasted approximately 9 minutes, with the kids finding them quickly.

Thankfully, no kids were actually trampled on by other kids in the dash for eggs, but it was a close call.

The kids and their parents then moved to the grill, where some 150 hot dogs were available. It was good to see some of the folks there from last year and from some of the other activities we do over the course of the year.

At the end of the event, 3 hot dogs and one bottle of water were left (the sodas and Capri Suns were gone).

And the kids were tired….

…as were the volunteers.

But there were a few sweet kids left, still looking for eggs, armed with the optimism of the young, and the knowledge that more eggs await tomorrow.

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