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.
This Wednesday, Sam Houston hosted its football game against Western Kentucky; everyone was there… except for the dedicated Pre-Law Society members who attended this week’s meeting. The guest speaker was the incredible Dean Gene Roberts. Dean Roberts is not only an Associate Dean but also the Director of Student Legal & Mediation Services.
After a bit of business…
President Olivia Discon introduced Dean Roberts, and he graciously gifted the pre-law members with lots of goodies such as: padfolios, pens, and pencils to take notes, and pamphlets about mediation services.
Using a unique approach to speaking that he learned from Steven J. Gould, Dean Roberts started by letting the students ask questions. He discussed topics including the importance of meditation for solving disputes against two parties, confidentiality between mediator and clients, and neutrality of the mediator.
Dean Roberts also touched on terms such as intellectual curiosity (wanting to ask questions), B.I.F.F. (which is used for high conflict personalities meaning brief, informative, friendly, and firm, which he made a point to mention is attributed to Bill Eddy), and Collaborative Law.
The lecture was excellent and very insightful into the world of meditation and helped paint a clearer picture on the topic. A big thank you to Dean Roberts for taking the time to come speak with us!
After a multi-year hiatus, the LEAP Center has revived its Moot Court Team, and SHSU Students Olivia Discon (Team Captain) and Maggie Betancourt will be competing at the Texas A&M Law School Regional Tournament on November 16-17.
What is Moot Court, Anyway?
Moot Court replicates the appellate process. Most people are familiar with the trial courts, where (typically) a jury judges the guilt of a defendant; witnesses are called to testify, are involved in direct and cross examination; and a single judge presides over the proceedings. But in an Appellate Court, attorneys compile documents, provide a written brief, and offer oral arguments, making the case that the lower court erred (petitioner) or didn’t (respondent) in the proceedings.
This fits right in with the LEAP Center’s activities, which already many law-school related activities, including inviting the 10th Court of Appeals to campus once a year to hear cases.
Without knowing it, then, the LEAP Ambassadors have had a mini-preparation for the Moot Court experience.
Moot Court Preparation
Although we may change formats in future years, the Moot Court experience works like this:
May 1: AMCA Releases Case;
August: Students read case and take “Foundations Quiz” to participate;
September: Weekly practices begin;
October: Practices continue and students may scrimmage other teams;
November: Regional Tournament
January: National Tournament
For the students, this means reading the cases (there are 21 cases in all) thoroughly, and developing arguments, modified over weekly practices, that can be used for their “courtroom” appearance.
Moot Court Benefits
In following this regimen, students gain many benefits. They…
Learn how to read and understand court opinions;
Learn how to write appellate briefs;
Sharpen their critical thinking, writing, and communications;
Gain substantive knowledge in the field of law;
Gain exposure to law schools to which they may be applying.
Rules of Moot Court
After familiarizing themselves with the main case and associated cases, the competitors decide which of two issues they will be arguing before the court. This year’s case, which is based on the Michelle Carter encouraging suicide through text-messaging case, involves both the 5th Amendment (self-incrimination, tackled by Maggie) and 1st Amendment (free speech, addressed by Olivia).
The students also (more or less) split the 20-minute time limit, with each student making their case before the judges for about ten minutes.
SHSU Competing in 2016 Moot Court Competition
This can be tricky, because judges can interrupt as often as they want, and the time spent being interrupted counts against the time allotted. (See full rules below).
Although teams may compete in scrimmages that are self-arranged, their first (and probably only) appearance is at one of 15-16 regional tournaments across the United States, which host, collectively, approximately 120 Universities, many of which field multiple teams. The top 25-percent of these teams then compete in nationals in January.
SHSU Moving Forward
With help from Dean Gene Roberts, Stephanie Fors, and Victoria McClendon-Leggett, the students have gone through increasingly rigorous practices…
…culminating with a scrimmage on October 19, 2024.
This scrimmage, which took place on Zoom in three different states, involved 12 teams. Organized by Blacin Godfrey from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the students competed in three rounds, twice representing the petitioner and once representing the respondent.
Although the results have not yet been delivered to the teams, the SHSU team was able to enhance its practice in more realistic conditions, hear perspectives from more people, and commiserate with other moot court participants across the country.
Importantly, the scrimmage identified weaknesses in the team’s arguments; highlighted applications of other cases that should be considered for incorporation; and spotlighted weaknesses in delivery and presentation.
The team will continue its practice through November 16-7, when they will be one of 24 teams competing at TAMU Law School.
Getting Involved
For students who would like to be considered for SHSU’s Moot Court team next year, please contact Olivia Discon at oliviadiscon@shsu.edu or Professor Mike Yawn at mike.yawn@shsu.edu.
Wes and Karen Altom didn’t set out to start a family business, but it worked out that way.
Wes, a long-time police officer, had exposure to marketing and communications in his report-writing and also in emergency management, when crisp and quick communications were necessary.
Karen graduated with a Radio, Television, and Film degree, so marketing was always part of her career objectives.
And Marshall Altom graduated most recently with a degree in Business Administration.
Together, they make up a marketing hat-trick in East and Southeast Texas that does much good for the communities in the region.
In that spirit, the Altoms reassembled their team to present to anyone from the community who is interested in learning more about marketing. This was a sequel of sorts to a similar event they did for the Small Business Development Center, and this time, with full control over the event, they offered it for free and even provided the lunch!
The Altoms went beyond normal marketing discussions to discuss ways businesses, governments, or non-profits should cater to their objectives, their target audiences, and their budget. This was helpful for us at the LEAP Center, because we learned ways we can spread our reach for free, even if we weren’t ready to get into targeted ad buys or geofencing or other in-depth marketing.
And we weren’t the only government or non-profit entities there; we saw Stacy Loll from The Senior Center; Shannon Hollis from HISD; and Kim Weiser and Laura Green from CASA of Walker County. In short marketing isn’t only for the business community–although we did sit next to our friend, Ken Holland!
The program was compelling. We learned the difference between branding and targeted marketing; the difference between Search Engine Messaging and Search Engine Optimization; and how a company can assess which efforts have paid off and which were misfires.
We also learned a lot about how Google produces results. Your search engine results are based on two broad factors: you as the searcher; and the actions of the places for which you are searching. Internally, Google will consider your location, your prior searches, where you visit, how you rate similar items, and a whole host of items related to you and your behavior and preferences. But the search engine results will also depend on the behavior of the companies for which you search? How are they evaluated by others? Are they active on their website and in social media? Do they respond to their evaluations?
We don’t know exactly how all this may impact LEAP, but we are pretty confident that the community services and responsiveness provided by the Altom family will earn them some high evaluations–all well deserved!
This past weekend, the Boys and Girls Club of Walker County hosted their second Oktoberfest Bingo and we, of course, could not miss such an exciting opportunity to let out our competitive spirits and to help sponsor such a good cause.
Proceeds–which totaled approximately $113,000–were raised to support the operations of the Boys and Girls Club, which promotes the intellectual, emotional, and physical growth of young people in our community.
For us, this was not only a great opportunity to support the community in a small way, but also to see our friend and Boys and Girls Club CEO, Michelle Spencer.
With this in mind, we sponsored our own table and invited our friends Jacob Wessels, Caitlin Nortonen, and Maggie Betancourt along.
We couldn’t afford a sponsorship as generous as The Cafe Texan, Bill and Diane Green, First National Bank, Community Service Credit Union, North Houston Cancer Clinics, North Lakes Pain Consultants, The Huntsville Item, Wiesner Huntsville, or Wischnewsky Dodge (see the full list of generous sponsors here), but our sponsorship came with raffle tickets, and we put our tickets in pots of most interest to us, including: $25 gift card to Barnes and Nobles (where Olivia dropped all her tickets), a $20 gift card to Louise and Oletta’s (one of our favorite local restaurants), Double Dave’s gift card, and a scavenger hunt.
As the crowd settled, and the emcee, Brad Sherman, expertly guided us along, we took our seats for the highlight of the night: bingo! With a card in one hand and a marker in the other, we were ready to test our luck.
Sadly after a few of the rounds, we realized how much luck we lacked. Hope was decreasing rapidly at our table when Chrissy jumped up and yelled “Bingo!” She won a party package to Tom Foolery’s for axe throwing and a buffet!
At first, the emcee thought there was a mistake on the card. Not knowing Chrissy, he couldn’t have known that you don’t argue with her over details, and in the end, her bingo card was validated.
What we know is that Chrissy is an axe-throwing veteran.
In her generous way, she invited the table to an evening of axe-throwing at Tom Foolery’s, and shortly thereafter, in an amazing coincidence, Trey Wharton stopped by to offer everyone health and life insurance…
In between the bingo rounds, the raffle winners were announced. We all got our tickets out and held them as if they held the fortune to all our hardships. Luck seemed at our table’s vicinity as Saara’s ticket won a car detailing…
…and Caitlin won a Let’s Roam scavenger hunt date night.
The live auction also took place in between the games. Having never seen an auction before, I found it quite impressive to see how fast the auctioneer spoke.
Further, a silent auction was taking place.
A few of the prizes included a Sam Houston swag basket, a Michael Kors purse, a yoga set bundle, and a jewelry set that Professor Yawn and Stephanie ended up winning!
As the rounds progressed, so did our pile of losing cards which truly terminated any hope we had left–but not our fun!
With the night coming to an end, Michelle Spencer and the Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors appreciated everyone’s attendance to the event by acknowledging that more than $100,000 had been raised!
We might not have won the prizes we wanted, nonetheless, we left the venue with huge smiles on our faces knowing that we helped raise money for a significant organization in our community.
The LEAP Ambassadors kicked off the Conflict Resolution Month with an exciting virtual session hosted by Student Legal and Mediation Services- and what other way to enjoy an exciting session than with pizza?! The event was led by none other than Dr. Gene Roberts, Associate Dean and Director of Student Legal Mediation Services…
Dean Roberts set the stage with a warm welcome to all attendees, introducing Kiser and giving a shoutout to the Pre-Law Society students in attendance. Kiser wasted no time diving into the core of his expertise, offering valuable advice to pre-law students who are eager to begin their legal journeys.
Kiser’s discussion centered on his book Professional Judgment for Lawyers, in which Dean Roberts jokingly remarked could easily be titled Professional Judgment for Everyone… perhaps a title Kiser will use for the second addition of his book! The book offers insights into how our personal judgment shapes not only the legal field by society as a whole. Kiser walked us through the essential elements of decision-making in law, critiqued past and current law school structures, and shed light on how lawyers can use their experiences in the legal field to better serve their clients.
When asked what inspired his transition from being a partner at a big law firm to becoming a researcher and author, Kiser cited the influence of modern management theories from Peter Drucker and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory. These concepts motivated his passion for exploring how lawyers and successful law firms make decisions.
One of the most interesting parts of Kiser’s discussion was his research on decision-making within the legal field. He emphasized the importance of professional judgment and highlighted how mediation training can significantly boost the success of a lawyer. According to Kiser, mediation fosters higher social awareness and sharper decision-making skills- both of which are qualities that make a strong attorney.
As the session wrapped up, the LEAP Ambassadors had a chance to ask Kiser a few final questions, and we all left with a deeper understanding of the critical role judgment plays within the legal field. A huge thank you to Gene Roberts for making this inspiring session possible and accessible to the pre-law students and to Randall Kiser for sharing his wisdom and advice with us!
This past weekend, the LEAP Ambassadors, along with friends and alumni, took our regular trip to Houston for an afternoon filled with laughter, great food, and a little culture. Our destination: The Alley Theatre to see the farcical comedy Noises Off. These Houston outings have become something of a tradition for us—a chance to bond over good food and great theatre, and this time was no exception.
Before heading to the show, we made our first stop at POST Houston, a spot we frequent for its array of restaurants that cater to every craving. From sushi to burgers and international cuisine, POST has something for everyone. After fueling up, it was time for our traditional rooftop photo with the Houston skyline in the background—a moment we capture every time we’re in the area. The LEAP Ambassadors, a few friends, and alumni joined in for the photo op, including Michelle Lyons and her daughter Katherine Burnett, SHSU alum and former SHAIP intern Ashlyn Rodriguez with her husband, as well as Jacob Wessels and Yajaira Gutierrez. With full stomachs and a great group, we were ready for the play!
For those unfamiliar, Noises Off is a comedy about…well, comedy. It’s a play within a play, following a chaotic theatre troupe as they stumble (quite literally) through a performance. Having some theatre background myself, I was eager to see how close this farce would be to the real backstage antics I’ve experienced. Spoiler alert: it was spot on—and absolutely hilarious.
The play is structured in three acts, each highlighting a different stage of a theatre production.
The first act is the troupe’s final rehearsal before opening night, where the director desperately tries to smooth out the rough edges—particularly the constant confusion over a plate of sardines, which becomes a running joke. The second act gives us a behind-the-scenes look, with the audience seeing the backstage chaos unfold as the actors’ personal issues boil over. Doors are slamming, props are misplaced, and love triangles are revealed. And then, in the final act, we witness the disastrous final performance, where everything that could go wrong does. The actors are left to improvise their way through the script, which by now is nothing more than a series of disconnected lines and missed cues.
It was a joy to see our group laughing together, especially as some of us were familiar with the antics that come with putting on a play. Stephanie, in particular, has long been a fan of Noises Off, and by the end of the show, Yajaira had declared it her new favorite too. It’s no wonder—between the witty dialogue and physical comedy, the play is a masterclass in farce.
As we walked out of the theatre, we couldn’t help but keep laughing about the final performance scene—the sardines, the dropped lines, and the general mayhem. It was a perfect ending to a perfect afternoon. In fact, I think the sardines became their own character in the play! It was a delightful reminder that sometimes, when everything goes wrong, it makes for the best kind of theatre…and memories.
On Tuesday, September 24, Texas Ranger Maurice Cook visited students at Sam Houston State University to offer a special presentation about the 1974 Huntsville Prison Siege and different aspects of his career—which involves service in Vietnam, being a police officer, working as a State Trooper, going to law school and passing the bar (at the age of 60), teaching at a community college, and, for the past four years, holding the office of Sheriff (Bastrop County).
But it was his time as a Ranger that occupied most of our time with him, particularly his experience in the 1974 Huntsville Prison Siege, which at that time, was the longest prison siege in history.
He began by noting that he had only been a Ranger for less than a year…
…and he got the call to come to the Huntsville Unit, with his bulletproof vest.
He offered vivid and sometimes humorous descriptions of a Carrasco associate, a trustee inmate, who was able to work with Carrasco’s wife to smuggle in guns and ammunition—in peach cans!
Ranger Cook also did a good job of describing the Carrasco “fortress,” which was the prison library, fortified with tables, books, and other impediments—while also “imprisoning” eleven hostages.
While law-enforcement had the building surrounded, there was only way in and one way out, so it would have been very difficult to mount a full-frontal offensive.
They did set up dynamite on the rear wall, and planned to use it if Carrasco began torturing or killing hostages.
Carrasco was concerned about this, and he would assign his compadres to crawl in the rafters and look through the vents—but in doing so, the lookouts would scare away pigeons, who roosted on the building’s eaves. This allowed law-enforcement to know a little about what was happening inside the “fortress.”
Carrasco also insisted on using his (Hispanic) lawyer as a mediator, because he did not trust the non-Hispanic law-enforcement officials. While law-enforcement officials did negotiate, they did so strategically, not providing anything that could be too damaging.
They did provide helmets, but they had weakened the metal in the temple area so that bullets could pass through the steel; and they provided a getaway car, but they messed with the gas gauge such that it appeared full, while being nearly empty. One of the more interesting show-and-tell items was a book that stopped a bullet during the siege, which Ranger Cook had on hand.
Ranger Cook also noted, during the Q&A period, that the siege brought about changes in law enforcement procedures, particularly with securing the crime scene. The lack of protocol led to extensive court battles. The siege also led to a dedicated SWAT team, in place for future encounters of this type.
Toward the end of the discussion, he shared valuable insights about life and success, highlighting my favorite quote: “Shoot for as high as you can.,” and he ended the event with a book-signing.
We would like to extend a special thank you to Ranger Maurice Cook and Marcus Cook for taking the time to meet and enlighten us about the 1974 Huntsville Prison Siege, as well as sharing a bit of history about Ranger Cook’s life and law enforcement career!
For the final stop of our Arkansas trip, we headed north to Hot Springs! We took in the stunning views from the Hot Springs Mountain Tower, enjoyed a quick tour, and refreshed our knowledge of the city’s rich history.
One of the city’s most notable landmarks is the Arlington Hotel, which has burned down twice and hosted historical figures like Babe Ruth, Al Capone, and President Ronald Reagan. The city is also home to historic bathhouses, as well as a variety of restaurants and shops.
I was especially intrigued by the artifacts on display at the Mountain Tower, particularly an old Arlington Hotel menu from the early 1900s, where a sirloin steak cost an eye-popping five dollars! But the views of the town and the Ozarks that were most inspiring.
Though we reached the top of the tower in under a minute via elevator, Professor Yawn challenged us to put our “hiking” skills to the test by walking down the 216-foot tower. To my surprise, I was the first to make it down the long flight of stairs—a satisfying redemption after my setback at Pinnacle Mountain!
FordyceBathhouse
by Olivia Discon
After we conquered the Hot Springs Mountain Tower, Saara and I headed to the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center and Museum, a time capsule to an age when people believed these hot springs could cure just about anything.
Built in 1915, the Fordyce Bathhouse was once the go-to spot for people looking to treat illnesses like arthritis, skin conditions, and as you could imagine, chronic stress. We talked about how long some of these people would stay—weeks, sometimes even months—soaking in the mineral waters, hoping for a miracle cure.
The Fordyce is part of Bathhouse Row–several historic bathhouses that line Hot Springs’ main street–but it was the first to close. Just two decades after the development of penicillin, bath houses were seen as obsolete, and in 1962, the Fordyce closed. Since that time, the National Park Service has taken great steps in renovating the houses and re-opening them to the public as museums.
As we walked through the museum, we got a sense of just how elevated of an experience this must have been. With stained glass ceilings and marble accents throughout, it was clear that the treatment prescribed grandeur and luxury.
After our tour, Saara and I explored some of the rooms, and we found the gym to be the most interesting.
It was filled with old equipment and gymnastic apparatus, There was no shortage of details in what a long term stay would require.
While these baths might not have been miracle cures, they certainly forced relaxation and offered an escape from everyday life!
What I found especially interesting was that the entire area, including Bathhouse Row, is now maintained by the National Park Service and, indeed, much of the downtown area falls into the Park System. Indeed, some of our most memorable scenes were in the downtown area.
We only had a day in Hot Springs and we didn’t actually soak in any springs, but we greatly enjoyed our time, and left with a sense of rejuvenation.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 