Although the semester-end draws near, several inquisitive and energetic students were up for a trip to the George Bush Presidential Library. The trip involved not only a tour through the Museum…
…but also a presentation by Jean Becker (President Bush’s Chief of Staff) and Warren Finch (the Library’s Director). What followed was an educational, informative, and entertaining trip through the past century for Cameron Gill, Ingrid Cuero, Olivia Discon, Kloe Osorio Ortiz, and Chris Fahey, led by Professor Mike Yawn and Stephanie Fors.
With a career as varied as George Bush’s, every student had something to enjoy. He had a large and successful family, including a father who was Senator…
A Bust of Prescott Bush
…a son who was President, and another son who was Governor.
Ingrid seemed to like this aspect of the Museum the most, paying extensive attention to the family portraits, letters, and descriptions.
For Chris, a veteran, Bush’s military service was a highlight. Bush signed up for the military at 18, becoming the youngest fighter pilot in the service. His plane, The Avenger, hangs from the ceiling of the Bush School, while below,
…the Museum has artfully arranged artifacts from his time in the military.
One of these artifacts is video footage taken after Bush was shot down over Chichi Jima, and it shows him being rescued at sea by the USS Finback.
Cameron Gill and Olivia Discon seemed to most enjoy the gifts given to President Bush from heads of state across the globe.
Kloe and the group–perhaps Ingrid most of all–enjoyed playing roles in the Oval Office, staging a scene that might been from a national crisis.
Moreover, all of the students seemed to enjoy the learning that takes place when you find out things you didn’t know: Bush played baseball in college; Bush was Director of the CIA; Bush served in Congress; and just visiting, for the first time, a Presidential Library and Museum.
No matter their preferences inside the Museum, all enjoyed the presentation by Warren Finch and Jean Becker, who, after introductions by Max Angerholzer…
…reflected on 25 years of the Bush Presidential Library.
With a personal interplay worthy of a road show, Finch and Becker told stories about opening the Library, special events at the Library, managing content of the Library, and, ultimately, Bush’s passing and his burial on the Library grounds.
Following the event, the students had a chance to get their books signed and to meet with Ms. Becker, who was gracious as always. Indeed, she promised a return trip to SHSU, a prospect that was especially pleasing to Professor Yawn.
With a full day behind them, the students had a busy semester to return to at SHSU. Their trip home reflected some of their plans for finishing out the semester, for Thanksgiving break, and also, perhaps, for future visits to Presidential Libraries.
Approximately once a month, LEAP takes a group of students to Houston to attend a World Affairs Council event. For the month of November, this event happened to be a discussion about U.S. Intelligence and National Security with the Fifth Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan, and Stephen B. Slick, the Director of the Intelligence Studies Project at UT Austin and former CIA Agent. Introducing them was Ambassador David Satterfield, making the group on hand about as knowledgeable on foreign policy as any three people could be.
This combination proved to be as interesting as it sounds, and made even a bit more interesting with the inclusion of several freshmen LEAP participants, including Adisen Massie, Michelle Cardenas, and Andrew Jeon!
Former CIA Director John Brennan with Andrew Jeon, Jessica Cuevas, Adisen Massie, and Michelle Cardenas
Many children grow up wanting to be a federal agent of some sort, and the CIA certainly has an allure. This was the case for former Director Brennan, who applied to the CIA, and when told he would be given an interview, immediately told all of his family about the exciting turn of events! Of course, you can’t be a clandestine agent if everyone knows you are interviewing for the CIA, so he had to turn around and tell everyone that the interview hadn’t worked out. As it turned out, however, the interview went well, and Brennan embarked on an illustrious career.
Serving from 1980-2005, Brennan specialized in Middle Eastern Affairs and counterterrorism and would eventually create a National Counterterrorism Center. Due to his specialization, he had the unique opportunity to serve as an intelligence briefer to Presidents Clinton and Bush (43).
While moderator Steven Slick advertised Brennan’s book, Undaunted: My Fight Against America’s Enemies, at Home and Abroad, he also noted that a title such as “Reform” would have been apt. Not only did Brennan reform the agency, but he helped establish our nation’s policy and response to terrorism, disasters, and cyberattacks.
Brennan was a fitting director for the agency, believing that they should primarily focus on intelligence and not lethal action. He also occasionally angered members of Congress, because he did not seek their recommendations for the types of reforms needed. If he had, he said, he would still be waiting on decisions and consensus.
At almost every opportunity, Brennan spoke of what he and other agents and government figures did as “public service.” And he encouraged the young people in the audience–mostly us–to see public service as valuable and obligatory.
As we’ve come to expect, it was another top-notch speaker and experience put on by the World Affairs Council. Many thanks for the wonderful service provided by WAC.
Continuing our journey of understanding the legal system, specifically the courts, the SHSU Pre-Law Society had the opportunity to hear from a former civil trial prosecutor, Mr. Chris Thompson! He received his law degree from St. Mary’s School of Law and has worked in the legal field in Walker County for 16 years. He is a practicing attorney who works on real estate issues, appeals, and personal injury. Mr. Thompson is also a professor at Sam Houston State University, where he teaches business law. With all the knowledge and background Mr. Thompson has, we were excited to hear his advice and tips on cross and direct-examination skills!
Direct and cross examinations are essential parts of our adversarial trial system, and Professor did a great job highlighting the two approaches.
Mr. Thompson provided various examples of actual trials, such as the recent case of Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard. He highlighted the practice, noting that when doing cross, you force the witness into providing short responses, answering the specific question. Heard, for example, often wanted to provide context or additional information, which the Depp team successfully curtailed. It’s not that Heard can’t provide that information, but it’s her attorney’s job to re-direct and get that information in, if it, in fact, helps Heard’s side.
The other example was from a famous movie that most say has the best cross-examination scene, “My Cousin Vinny.” Mr. Thompson emphasized that the film perfectly expressed the importance of looking at the small details of the big picture. Every detail is essential to a case. When making a case, we need to build up the suspense, just like in a thriller movie or the “ah ha” moment.
Finally, Mr. Thompson pointed out the complexities of examining a witness. For example, when asking questions, you must know when the right moment is to stop asking further questions. This is key to leaving the jury to sway more to your side. All of these tips gave us a better understanding of what cross-examination is and how it can better prepare us for our cross-examination exercise for our next pre-law society meeting.
We want to thank Mr. Chris Thompson for taking the time out of his evening to speak with us and share his journey to becoming a lawyer and tips for cross/direct examination. His advice will help us with future endeavors and cases we may have as attorneys ourselves. Also, we would like to thank the people who attended this past meeting. See you at our next meeting on November 16th!
With elections a little less than a month away, the Republican Party of Walker County and the Walker County Republican Women held a “Republican Roundup” Wednesday evening at the Walker Education Center.
When Morgan, Ingrid, and I arrived to volunteer the room was bare, but as it drew closer to the beginning of the event the room began to be filled with people from left to right.
When the clock struck 6:00 pm, Mrs. Linda McKenzie announced for everyone to take their seats and Johnny Uribe, of the SHSU College Republicans, led the pledges and Precinct Chair Joe Pat Whitehead the invocation. Everyone in the room was ready to hear from elected officials but mainly to support and hear from those that are racing to the finish line.
Former vice-chair for Texas’ Republican Party, Cat Parks, was the highlight of the night as she encouraged everyone in the room to not only vote in November but to take a buddy with us. Despite her retirement, there is still a lot of work that she would like to see happen in the State of Texas. She shared her stories of how she came to be involved in politics and the importance of making everyone around you and those you meet feel loved and welcomed. You never know when someone needs an encouraging message, she is very grateful and showed her gratitude to Chairwoman Mrs. Linda McKenzie for being kind to her.
With Congressman Brady finishing up his term on the third of January, Congressman Pete Sessions–who will represent most of Huntsville in the next Congress, expressed how thankful he is for being able to work alongside Brady in DC, but is also excited and looking forward to seeing all the things that he will hopefully accomplish alongside soon-to-be Congressman, Morgan Luttrell (who will represent the southern tip of Huntsville).
Having flown back from New York, Morgan Luttrell shared his experiences there, as well as a bit of a vision for the future, representing parts of Montgomery and Walker Counties.
Colt Christian on the other hand, reminded us of why he is running and why we should show up to the polls and vote.
As the event began to wrap up, Judge Pierce, Judge Payne, and Jim Henry all shared a few words expressing their gratitude for everyone in the room who continuously supported them, especially their families.
If nothing else, the two things that people who were in attendance walked away with were:
(1) making sure you vote this election
(2) showing your gratitude and being kind to others.
Early voting begins on October 24th and will be available through November 4th, for early voting you may go to the HEART Veterans Museum, also referred to as the storm shelter. Be sure to get out there and vote early to avoid the long lines on election day, November 8th!
Saturday mornings come early for college students, but with the support of the LEAP Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Walker County, Trees for Houston, and landscape architect Falon Mihalic, more than 20 SHSU students had a productive Saturday morning–planting, and planning, for the future.
The project involved planting flowers, shrubs, and trees around the Boys and Girls Club playground, beautifying the grounds, improving the environment, and enhancing the educational experiences for the boys and girls of Walker County.
The morning began with Michelle Spencer, Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Walker County, giving us a tour and history of the organization and its programs. From arts and crafts to board games to yoga to homework time, students engage in various activities designed to help them mature physically, intellectually, and emotionally.
Such programs are funded with a 1 million dollar budget–much of which comes from grants and donors (click here to give!)–and directed by dedicated staff.
For many of the children in Walker County, this is the only program where they can have a safe and educational environment to be when parents are not. But it is not simply a day care; each of its programs are designed along best practices for educating young people to reach their fullest potential.
While most of the students were captivated by the game room, the LEAP Ambassadors–who helped lead the project–were taken by the Arts room, where the “Blue Dog” art-work of George Rodrigues was featured.
After learning more about the Boys and Girls Club and its wonderful programs, we moved to learning about the planting of trees from Travis Weddle, Program Coordinator for Trees for Houston.
The process involved several steps: (1) staking, (2) digging, (3) prepping, (4) planting, and (5) berming and mulching.
Mr. Weddle did a great job of walking us through these steps, breaking us into teams, and providing the occasional reminder of how to do things.
What followed was much digging, bending, planting, rearranging dirt, watering–and a lot of teamwork.
With student volunteers ranging in age from 18-51 working alongside one another, we also had a chance to make new friends. It was a new learning experience in every sense of the word: from learning about the environment and biology, to learning about the community, and to learning about each other.
As the lunch hour began to pass, we began to finish up. We took the time to pose for photographs with our work and to reflect on our experiences.
Although the trees are far from maturity, we decided they had a pleasant effect on the landscape.
Our new friendships, too, formed a foundation for future endeavors.
And, taken together, we believe a bright future–for us and the community–has taken root.
October has a few milestones for those in Huntsville, but none more important than Main Street’s Annual Scare on the Square! This year, we were fortunate enough to have 3 booths, all run by students from Professor Yawn’s classes. Two groups from the Local Government class and one group from University 1101 Pre-Law braved the eager trick-o-treaters, photo-snapping parents, and swarms of community members, to volunteer for this amazing event.
Main Street Coordinator, Annel Guadalupe was assisted by Main Street Intern and LEAP Ambassador, Jessica Cuevas.
Jessica Cuevas is the small child on the right, not the left.
The team did a wonderful job transforming our beloved downtown into a Halloween Celebration! Up at Rather Park, a DJ was stationed playing Halloween music, and there were fall-themed photo stations for families to remember their time at scare on the square. Yvette and I were on standby to offer assistance to the groups and to take pictures.
We coordinated our costumes from the movie Monsters Inc. and became known as the Monster photographers (although, within LEAP, we are known simply as “monsters”)!
Each group of volunteers brainstormed their own games and was responsible for bringing their ideas to life.
Booth one was run by one group from the local government class. Volunteers from this group were: Michelle Bright, Amor Sheffield, Matthew Smith, and Emily Lindahl, Adisen Massie, and Christina Biello.
Their game was perhaps the most creative and required quite a bit of skill from the young trick-o-treaters. With a small tub of rubber ducks and makeshift fishing poles, players were required to catch a duck to win candy! Some got the hang of fishing more easily than others, but intense concentration was a must for this game.
Booth two was the second group from the local government class, run by: Rachel Hill, Johnny Uribe, Gisela Soto, Giselle Martinez, Amari Gallien, and Cameron Gill.
This group kept the game simple, with classic cornhole boards. However, the true competitive colors of almost every player were shown in this game. This booth seemed to produce an endless amount of laughs, as volunteers enjoyed the game faces of the players.
The final group were all in their first semester at SHSU, and they did a great job of decorating their booth, assembling costumes, and putting on a game. This group included Sephora Pham, Faith Barnes, Peyton Jennings, McKenna Nonnennmann, Michelle Cardenas, and Cinthia Villareal.
To win candy at this booth, children had to toss a tennis ball into a Halloween bucket (which sounds easier than it actually is)!
When it came time for the Costume Parade, Annel asked for a few volunteers to escort Frankenstein from the front of the parade! Gisela and Johnny helped corral masqueraders, and led them down the street toward the park.
The parade was a success; Johnny and Gisela even got to help city staff pass out beads to the participants.
Another highlight was just seeing all the young people–and older people–dressed up and having fun.
Scare on the Square is one of my favorite events of the year. Members of the community fellowship in our beautiful Downtown, enjoy the nice weather, and celebrate a fun holiday!
On behalf of the LEAP Center and the students who volunteered, thank you to Annel, Jessica, and the City of Huntsville for making this event possible!
Two years ago, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) made a decision that they needed approach to diversifying courts across the country. They created a new position–Director of Racial Equity, Fairness, and Inclusion–and they hired Bell to “address racial equality in the justice system.” And, today, owing to a partnership between CRIJ’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office and the Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT), Bell spoke to faculty, staff and students at SHSU.
Introduced by Nu Epps, CJ’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion…
…Bell got to the point quickly, discussing a “Blueprint” for a new justice system. This change begins with awareness, requires institutional (and institutionalized) change, is expanded by new processes, and is nourished by recruiting justice-system actors from a cross-section of the United States.
These changes can range from being aware of our biases, includes modifications of how we treat people in the justice system, and extends to the manner in which we target opportunities. One of these opportunities, which will be unveiled fully within the year, is C.O.R.A, which involves targeting minority-serving institutions for internships, clerkships, and positions within the criminal justice system.
Bell is well positioned to assess many of these changes. With a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice, a Master’s in Business Administration, a Certificate in Judicial Administration from Michigan State University, and a graduate of the NCSC Court Management Fellows program. He has also worked in the court system for more than a decade, serving as judicial administrator, clerk, and as a planner for the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of Georgia.
Bell’s experience, wisdom, and inspirational message influenced at least one student in the audience. Kiara Williams, a senior Criminal Justice major at SHSU, noted that it was “an uplifting talk, and it opened me up to some opportunities I had not considered.”
Following the event, Bell spent time speaking with audience members, encouraging students (including Williams), and discussing potential future partnerships–before being whisked away to his next opportunity to spread a message of fairness and awareness.
After a long drive Wednesday evening to Louisiana, we were up and early to attend our first Academic Conference – The Popular Culture Association in the South! The three presenters for the Film and Noir session were Professor Yawn, Matthew Wysocki of Flagler College, and Lauren Mitchell of Vanderbilt.
Professor Yawn presented over “A Simple Plan,” directed by Sam Raini, (most famously known for the Evil Dead movies).
He argued that the film is best understood by looking at it from a tragic framework, with questions of free will and fate, the allure of the American dream at its center, and the tension between brothers.
The motif of “brotherhood” is seen again in “Only God forgives,” which Matthew Wysocki addressed in his presentation. More elaborately, though, it addresses the role of mother. Crystal, an untraditional mother if ever there was one, uses manipulation and raw power to gain even more power, abandoning all of what would normally be regarded as traditional maternal behavior.
Lauren Mitchell presented her paper over the movie “Hereditary. ” This film continues the theme of motherhood, highlighting the difficult time we have of seeing mothers as real people, who sometimes becomes mothers despite not wanting children, who sacrifice goals and hopes and dreams for others.
We successfully survived, and even enjoyed our first academic conference, and embarked on our way to our next stop!
Brunch at Elizabeth’s
Ashley Kinyon
This afternoon, we drove down to Elizabeth’s Restaurant right next to the Mississippi River. We started with an assortment of appetizers; boudin balls, fried green tomatoes, (some with seafood!), and possibly the strangest of the bunch, praline bacon. While we waited for the starters, we learned that many foods that we love in the US originated in New Orleans, either by invention or through trade. This includes pralines, which originated in France, but which was improved on in New Orleans, and then spread mostly through the South.
My favorite of the selection was the boudin balls, Morgan favored the fried green tomatoes, and for Yvette it was the praline bacon.
To maximize on adventure and try new (to us) flavors, we ordered four main dishes. For our main course, Morgan and Victoria ordered the shrimp and grits; the ratio of shrimp and grits was perfect.
Jessica played it safe with the avocado toast, with a poached egg. Although to her credit, the toast did have some NOLA spice to it, and she paired it with a side of grits.
Yvette chose the duck waffles, which she enjoyed but deemed too spicy, a recurring motif throughout the trip (and from what I gathered, throughout her life).
I picked the sweet meal out of the bunch and had banana foster French toast, which was delicious!
For dessert, we had bread pudding and pecan pie. The bread pudding was average, not the table’s favorite, but the pecan pie was amazing, better than any I’ve had in Texas.
Thoroughly stuffed and with high expectations for our next NOLA meal, we embarked on our adventure!
Homer Plessy
With a bit of downtime, we hustled over to a City Park, one highlighting civil rights. It was the site of Homer Plessy’s train ride, where he spurred a test case on Jim Crow laws.
Unfortunately, Plessy lost in 1896, and the doctrine of “Separate but Equal” became shameful precedent in the US, not replaced until 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education.
While at the Plessy site, we also looked over the rest of the park, taking in some of NOLA’s civil rights heroes.
Zooming through NOLA
Yvette Mendoza
We have concluded over three separate LEAP trips that there is no better way to learn more about a new city than by Segway, and we did just that in NOLA! Our excellent tour guide, John, with Nation Tours did a great job explaining the richness of history, architecture, and culture in New Orleans. So as the LEAP Ambassadors took their Segways through the French Quarter to the Mississippi River, we all gained a deeper understanding of NOLA.
John frequently time-traveled and described what the city was like in days past. Some of the tour was a refresher on previous history lessons, while other parts were new information. We learned that NOLA went through 4 major governing shifts. The city was initially founded by the French, taken over by the Spanish, fell again under French rule, and then finally doubled the size of the U.S. in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase.
Next, we headed to Jackson Square. This central location is deemed such because of the “Hero of New Orleans,” Andrew Jackson, and his unexpected victory as General at the Battle of New Orleans in early 1815. This was a major win for the United States because it spared the US the prospect of the British having control over the mouth of the Mississippi.
Perhaps the prime feature of Jackson Square must be the stunning, almost 300-year-old, St. Louis Cathedral. This Cathedral is one of the oldest in the country and was founded during Spanish occupation!
Our jaws dropped when we discovered we were stepping in front of the oldest Cathedral. We could not miss a photo opportunity!
Up next, Bourbon Street! Here we learned more about the Spanish stock architecture and the fantastic bars that perform the best jazz in New Orleans. this blend of modern-day culture, with historic surroundings is the city’s largest source of revenue Pre-covid, NOLA saw millions of tourists each year, and now those numbers are significantly lower. In fact, without tourists, there is genuinely no thriving NOLA since no revenue is being made.
No matter your age, interests, taste, there is something to be found by everyone in NOLA!
New Orleans felt like its own country. The way the people, location, and everything else are something we are not used to. We are so grateful we were able to learn so much on the Segway Tour guided by John; thank you so much!
Dinner at Oceana
Morgan Robertson
To conclude our evening, we stopped at the corner of Conti and Bourbon for yet another taste of NOLA. Oceana is popular for having a wide variety of NOLA standards, such as oysters, po’boys, and étouffée to name just a few.
To start, we stuck with our trend of an assortment of appetizers including, gator tail bites, boudin balls, fresh, Rockefeller oysters, and chargrilled oysters. For Ashley and me, this was our first time to try oysters and we had slightly different reactions. Ashley tried the Rockefeller oysters and determined they were not her favorite. I tried all three and enjoyed the Rockefeller the most! Everyone enjoyed the boudin balls, and we all agreed that alligator tastes a lot like chicken.
For our main meals, we once again mimicked family style, and tried many new flavors. Victoria and I split a blackened redfish, with a side of greens, Yvette and Jessica ventured out with the taste of New Orleans (creole jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, red beans and rice with smoked sausage), Ashley had the fried shrimp platter, and Professor Yawn and Stephanie split the Bayou Duck.
Verdicts were split on what the best entrée was, but at least three out of seven favored the blackened redfish. The flavors were once again unique but fantastic, a trip to NOLA could be made simply for the food.
Despite having little room for dessert (except for Stephanie because she effectively planned) we selected three options carrot cake, la boehme crème brule, and of course, bread pudding. The bread pudding was easily the favorite, but everyone enjoyed the sweet treats to end our wonderful meal!
Bourbon Street
We might have seen Bourbon St. during the day, but it was almost a completely new place after dark. Our steps fell in time to the bass of the music around us, and it almost felt like a runway with the flashing lights. If it is true that anyone can find something on Bourbon St, it’s even more true at night. Being only a Thursday night, however, we might gone at a slightly better time as it was not insanely busy.
Not wanting to linger on Bourbon Street and needing some sleep, we headed back to our hotels, to get rest for another day of learning and fun tomorrow.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 