The breeze blew in the trees, and the sun shone down on the flowers that surround SHSU’s beautiful campus. Amidst this scenery, most students made their way home from class, hearing the last chimes of the clock tower echoing around the brick buildings on campus. But for the LEAP Ambassadors, the 5 o’clock chimes were a call to gallop to our volunteer duties at the Walker Education Center for the western-themed Republican Roundup.
We all were assigned our stations and were ready for the rowdy crowd to come. Some of us were in charge of check-in tables…
…front and back, check-in tables…
….while other were in charge of serving an all American cuisine composed of hot dogs, potato salad, sweet tea, Blue Bell ice cream, and apple pie!
As the crowds drew into the decorated ballroom and found their seats amongst the sunflower center pieces that brightened up each table, Mrs. McKenzie, Chair of the Walker County Republican Party, welcomed people to the event.
After the applause died down from the crowd, the time most of us were most looking forward to had come – time to meet November’s candidates! Each candidate whose name will be on the upcoming November-election ballot was introduced and those with contested positions made their concise speeches while asking for everyone’s support. Once each candidate finished speaking, the crowd applauded them for their courage to run for office and make a difference in their communities.
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Even though the event was quickly wrapping up, many stayed to mingle (while enjoying dessert)…
….with candidates and those who already hold a position in office.
As the night ended with many shaken hands, the crowd made their way towards the doors ready to make an informed decision on the upcoming elections.
Tis the season for pumpkin spiced everything, Bearkat Football, cooler days and–for the Huntsville community–the Fair on the Square! Huntsville’s annual Fair on the Square attracts an average of 15,000 people to support small businesses and community engagement. Everyone, from Walker County and farther, congregated in Huntsville’s downtown square to shop for antiques, carnival food, crafts, and other treats.
Glad to assist, the LEAP Ambassadors volunteered with the Walker County Republican Party and the Walker County Republican Women among this ocean of booths. Thus, we spent a morning selling jewelry, registering voters, and taking donations for campaign buttons, yard signs, bumperstickers, and t-shirts. With a variety of booths showcasing all sorts of curiosities, from engraved pens to apparel from the Andes, the Fair attracted so much people that the streets flooded with shoppers eager to visit every inch of the Square. So being, the excited Republicans among the crowd visited our booths with an overwhelming eagerness to demonstrate their pride in their political activism. The day was a success for the Party as they sold out of many items, registered more than thirty voters in Walker County, and raised a bountiful amount of funds for local campaign efforts.
For the LEAP Ambassadors, it was a nice way to spend a Saturday morning by learning about local businesses, shopping, and volunteering with the Republican Party and Women. We were also fortunate to catch up with the Battle of Piney Woods game afterward (Go Bearkats!!). With such an amazing Fair on the Square Saturday, the LEAP Ambassadors are already looking forward to volunteering next year!
As the 85th Legislative Session rapidly approaches (beginning January 2017) Huntsville’s District 5 State Senator Charles Schwertner spent a day touring the east side of his district by meeting with local constituents, including a visit to SHSU. Senator Schwertner and staff members, such as SHSU and LEAP alumna Ariel Traub, generously agreed to speak to Professor Yawn’s Texas Government class to educate students about the Texas Legislature.
Thankful for all he was blessed with, Senator Schwertner believed it was his time to give back to his community by running for public office, in 2010 when the incumbent State Representative decided not to run for reelection. After serving in the House of Representatives for two years, Senator Schwertner ran for the Texas Senate and won with a majority vote. Through his firsthand experiences, Senator Schwertner discussed the difficulties of balancing his work as a Senator, his work as an Orthopedic Surgeon, and his family. However, he also stressed the importance of being a public servant.
During his time in class, Senator Schwertner explained the session length and organization of the Texas Legislature. Interestingly, the Texas House of Representatives is comprised of 150 members, established to represent the 150 Psalms, while the Senate is made up by 31 members, representative of the 31 Proverbs. This was an interesting piece of trivia that many students, and even Professor Yawn, were enthused to learned about for the first time!
Senator Schwertner and his staff graciously agreed to answer questions and impart some of their vast knowledge on students. These topics ranged from current issues that will be addressed in the Legislature, to how students can transition from the classroom to their careers after graduation. As always, Senator Schwertner and his staff were humble and helpful to students.
As their visit came to a close, Senator Schwertner, his staff, and students posed for a group picture before departing to their next stop in Huntsville.
Victoria McClendon, Leah Hamilton, Jasmine Moss, Senator Schwertner, Kaitlyn Tyra, Jordan Straus, Elizabeth Mintah
Many thanks to Senator Schwertner, Jordan Strauss, Leah Alexander, and Ariel Traub!
The perfect afternoon activity after a Monday full of classes for some students might be lounging around, relaxing by the pool soaking in the last summer rays or even sitting back and watching Netflix, but not if you’re a LEAPster. When we were made aware of Congressman Kevin Brady’s 4th Annual Blues & BBQ event, we all leaped at the opportunity to volunteer!
The venue, Dosey Doe Big Barn, was perfect for the western-themed night. It was the ideal take on a “rustic-vintage” look with the wooden beams that doubled as décor, the old Coca-Cola, Sunoco and General Electric signs that adorned the walls, and the many different types of quaint little chairs that surrounded each dinning table.
As guests began pouring in through the large stained wooden doors, we welcomed them with a warm greeting and thank them for attending while directing them to the dining area, buffet, and bar. Once Congressman Brady arrived, people began lining up to speak to him and shake his hand. After non-stop tête-à-tête conversation with his guests, Congressman Brady hopped on stage to speak about the upcoming presidential election and the importance of his constituents.
As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Brady’s chief responsibility is to oversee the tax code. Impressively, eight Presidents, eight Vice Presidents, twenty-one Speakers of the House of Representatives, and four Supreme Court Justices have served in the Ways and Means Committee! As a government official of great responsibility he gave everyone an update on what he has been working on in D.C. and stated his goals. After the applause died down guests continued to enjoy their meals. Along with a rewarding speech we were lucky enough to enjoy tasty brisket, roasted BBQ chicken, potato salad, and grilled squash!
The night closed once everyone had enjoyed a slice of dessert from the Texas sized cake that congratulated Congressman Brady.
Before the guests made their way out, they made sure to get some last words with the Congressman snapping some pictures with him along the way.
Congressman Brady was more than happy to take a picture with us as well, and his staff (The Brady Bunch) even invited us to hop on stage and join them in their staff picture! We all had a great time, and we hope to participate again soon!
With the 85th Legislative Session on the horizon, the LEAP Center invited a trio of accomplished State Legislative staffers to participate in a discussion panel/ Q&A Session addressing careers in government. Gathered to see the panel were 25 SHSU students, with interests ranging from law school, to the legislature, to an Austin Internship en route to a career in government. Whatever their end goal, however, all the students gained a better understanding of how to make it in the professional world following college.
On hand were Sarah Tillman (District Director for Rep. Will Metcalf)…
Zachary Stephenson (Chief of Staff for Rep. Will Metcalf)…
and Eiman Siddiqui (Chief of Staff for Rep. Tom Oliverson).
Interestingly, both Representatives Metcalf and Oliverson are SHSU Alums.
Tillman offered students wisdom on maintaining appropriate social media sites. Even though her advice was targeted to prospective Austi interns, it was applicable to the entire professional world. Zach Stephenson also emphasized professionalism, discussing the pitfalls that can plague young people who get caught up in the Austin bar scene. Whether outside of work or on social media, interns represent the office for which they work, and an unprofessional facebook post or an arrest harms not only the student, but also the office.
The panelists also discussed the skill set desired by legislative offices. While the offices desire intelligence, the most important qualities are the ability to deal effectively with people, a positive and professional attitude, flexibility, and writing skills, the latter being especially stressed by Eiman Siddiqui.
During the session, hours are long and the pay is small, so many of the people with the skill set described above move on when the session is over. But the high turnover rate is also an opportunity for young people to move up in the legislative environment, making a career in the legislature a real possibility. Indeed, all of the panelists were in their 20s or early 30s.
The panelists’ youth and their wisdom allowed them to relate to us, and we plan to lean heavily on them if we are fortunate enough to spend next semester in Austin!
With our trip nearing its end, we stopped for one last pit stop in Arkansas. As a LEAP favorite, we diced to end our travels with a savory lunch and a interesting visit to Little Rock’s MacArthur Museum of Military History.
Our first order of business, however, was to eat at Cafe Bossa Nova. The Brazilian cuisine restaurant, located on Kavanaugh Boulevard, provided a prime resting venue for us to lunch while reflecting on the trip. First,however, we looked over the menu trying to decipher what the printed item titles meant. Fortunately, this was quickly resolved with the help of our waiter.
Thus, Professor Yawn ordered a small Quiches, Brian the Torta de Frango (chicken pie), and Paul chose the lighter fare of soup and Mista salad. Before starting on our piece de resistance however, we chose to follow our waiter’s recommendations and ordered Almondegais and Pao de Queljo. The variety of cheese from the pao, with its creamy, rich flavors, were a perfect compliment with the meaty, fired Almondegais balls. With our main course dishes placed on our table, we took hold of knife and fork to begin tasting our delicious meals. Evidently we were all similarly delighted with our sections for soon we were left with empty plates and a satisfied sigh. Soon thereafter, we thanked our hosts on way through the threshold to get on our way to the U.S. Arsenal Building.
After finishing up our repast at the Bassa Nova, we drove through the beautiful avenues of Little Rock to see the Douglas MacArthur Museum. While Paul and Brian toured this, Prof. Yawn opted for a less martial exhibit, and went to the neighboring Little Rock Arts Center instead.
The Little Rock Arts Center is small, but it has a well-curated collection, with lesser pieces by big names such as Monet and Louise Nevelson….
Louise Nevelson
..and some very nice pieces by more regional artists. Carroll Cloar’s “Moonstruck Girls,” for example, is an interesting piece…
…as is Louis Watt’s “Untitled.”
The General MacArthur Museum was very interesting, spanning World War One to Vietnam. MacArthur is famous for being the commander of the pacific theatre of World War Two, for being a pivotal figurge in the Philippines, and for opposing President Truman in the matter of Korea. MacArthur is also famous for a speech he gave before Congress, in which he cites a “barracks ballad,” which says “old soldiers never die, they just slowly fade away.”
The museum was free, and well worth seeing. Paul enjoyed the collection of war posters from World War One, urging the viewer to buy bonds and to “Halt the Hun.”
He also liked the exhibit of Vietnam-era weaponry, including an M-79 grenade launcher, a shoulder-mounted RPG, and an AK-47. Brian seemed to have the most fun trying to take a good picture of a bust of Douglas MacArthur. Paul, Brian, and the General had a hard time fitting into the selfie, so they gave that up.
Finally we hit the road again, and made the long slog from Little Rock to Huntsville. It was a long, arduous drive, but we made it home around 10:00 p.m. We were all very glad to be back, for as a great man once said, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home!”
With the presidential elections around the bend, the LEAP Ambassadors attended the Walker County Republican Women’s non-partisan meeting on the various aspects of voting this Monday, August 29. The evening’s agenda included speakers focused on new voting ID requirements, the history of political parties, and the nearly unfathomable electoral college. The LEAPsters therefore were more than delighted to start off the semester with proper political education.
The first speaker, County Tax Assessor and Elections Officer Diana McRae, headed the conversation on new voter ID laws.
Walker County Tax Assessor Collector Diana McRae
With experience running more than fifty elections, McRae outlined the various kinds of identification that a voter may present at their polling station. From a normal driver’s license (acceptable even if expired for up to four years), to military identifications, those present are at peace knowing that this upcoming November they will be ready to present the proper requirements to vote.
Followed thereafter was SHSU’s own Political Science Professor Yawn. With a presentation focused around the history of political parties Yawn touched on the early years of American politics from the Federalists and the Anti Federalists, the Whigs, the Democratic- Republican party, finally reaching our present day decided political spectrum.
Professor Mike Yawn Speaks About the History of Political Parties
Highlighted were also presidents that shaped those political parties such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and many more. As her first time seeing Professor Yawn teach outside the classroom, Christina (one of the newest additions to the LEAP Ambassadors) deemed the presentation “as a very interesting one.” As a political science major however, this was to be expected. As for the rest of the non-student audience, they occasionally responded to Yawn’s presentation with laughter–not out of spite but as a result of the amusing presidential tales from Yawn’s dynamic presentation.
To finish the evening’s meeting Michael Ethridge, Huntsville’s field representative for U.S Congressman Kevin Brady, elucidated the audience on “How the President Really gets Elected.”
Michael Ethridge Discuss Presidential Elections
His main topic was the electoral college and how it affects the way presidents are voted into office. He showed us how one county can change the outcome of the entire state, like Ohio. He also answered questions related to our electoral college, and the process of voting. He showed a time line of the electoral process between November and January of election years. One thing he emphasized on was that voting is important. As college students who share his beliefs, the LEAP Ambassadors all thought it was an important message to share. Likewise the efforts of the Walker County Republican Women reflected this political responsibility of educating the community on voting, political history, and the electoral process.
As we wend our way home from “The Motor City,” we stopped in Indianapolis to see a heap of historic sites, from extensions of our research on The Vagabonds, to the Indy 500, to a presidential home, a capitol, and a fine art museum. Although it was our second-to-last day on the road, it promised to be a full one.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
We have friends who have been to the races here, and they indicate it’s pretty incredible. The Museum, however, is not incredible. It’s actually quite boring.
The Museum itself consists of approximately three rooms: a large show-case style room, a smaller room beyond the main room, and a room to the left which houses “special exhibits.” The main room has a timeline, which consists of a series of photographs on the walls, and then the winning cars from the past 100 years of races.
Indy-Winning Cars on Display at the Speedway Museum
Although it is of some interest to see the evolution of cars from long ago to today (mostly, the long-ago cars were cooler), there wasn’t a whole lot of context or the interesting tidbits you can learn from even small museums.
After looking around and wondering, “Is this all there is?”, we opted for the “short video” that provided “background.” It was short–about 8 minutes–but it provided almost no background. It was an eight-minute commercial for the special “spirit” of the Indianapolis 500. It provided little or no substantive information about the origin of the race, why Indianapolis became home to racing, or how things have changed over the years. It, too, was a disappointment.
Indiana State Capitol
Undaunted by the Speedway disappointment, we sped out of there and had breakfast at the City Cafe in downtown Indianapolis before heading to the Indiana State Capitol building.
Upon entrance to the Indiana capitol we noticed the nice but fairly typical exterior…
Indianapolis State Capitol Building
…but we were truly struck by the interior.
Indianapolis Capitol Dome
Interestingly, it houses all three branches of government; executive, legislative, and judicial. Thus we were able to see the working Governor’s office…
Governor Mike Pence’s Office
…the House and Senate chambers, and the court room of the Indiana Supreme Court, which doesn’t resemble a lot of the past statehouse tours.
Indiana Supreme Court
The interior of the Indiana Capitol is made of smooth, polished Vermont marble and Indiana limestone. The architecture is evocative of the Italian style. The rotunda at the heart of the building boasts an impressive stained-glass ceiling, and two wings that extend outwards in each direction.
The wings mirror each other, and have large open areas that go four floors upward before terminating in a glass ceiling that lets natural light filter down to the floor. Each open space is surrounded by walkways set into the walls and supported by columns in a colonnade fashion. Of special note was the fact that all three of the classical Greek styles of columns were represented. The first floor showcased doric columns; the second floor was supported by imposing, almost un-ornamented ionic columns; and the third floor was held up by thinner, more artistic corinthian columns. All of the columns were made of grey-white marble, and lacked fluting (vertical lines running up and down the length of the column).
Our tour guide led us through this pleasant architectural feat, showing off various interesting busts of famous Hoosiers.
He also made sure to impress upon us some pertinent facts about Indiana. We learned that the state bird is the cardinal, the state flower is the peony, the state tree is the tulip poplar, and the state song is “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away.” Most importantly, he told us that Indiana is one of only four states with an official state pie, which for Indiana is the sugar-cream pie. It was a nice tour, with a very nice tour guide.
And although we missed seeing Governor Pence at the Capitol, we did see people protesting Pence.
Trump/Pence Protestors at Indiana State Capitol
Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial
But before heading to our next historic home, we decided to go to the Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ memorial.
View of Indiana Solders’ and Sailors’ Memorial from the Capitol
This edifice boasts a pool and fountain beneath a circular, raised dais decorated by various sculptures. Soaring above it all is a tower that rears upwards toward the clouds.
You can actually climb up a set of 330 stairs on the inside of the obelisk, or take an elevator to the top for a small fee. Prof. Yawn elected to pay, while Brian and Paul adventurously took the stairs all the way to the top, compelled to do so after all of the vertigo-filled adventures of the trip. It was a beautiful view from up above, making the climb up worth it.
Brian and Paul from the Memorial’s Observation Deck
Our feat of athleticism was soon rewarded by a short visit to the Chocolate Cafe right across the street from the memorial. While sipping on a very sweet, creamy Chocolate Chai and nibbling on a very rich caramel sea salt chocolate, we people-watched. This was made more interesting by the gathering of people in our midst. There was, for example, a convention of sorts for Mennonites, who sang on a town square…
Circling them, on a pedal-powered bar (“The Pickled Pedaler) was a party of some sort (perhaps a wedding based on the sign on the back, which read, “Congratulations Tom & Ed”).
How you effectively avoid Mennonites and traffic in a town the size of Indianapolis–while drinking alcohol–is beyond us. It’s also not clear how this doesn’t violate some drinking and driving ordinance. Presumably, the steering-wheel operator doesn’t drink, but the people providing the power do.
Amidst all of this, it was also Gen-Con, a convention of strange people dressed as super-heroes and other characters.
It wasn’t quite the bar scene in Star Wars, but it wasn’t far off, and it wasn’t what we were expecting from Indianpolis, “The Crossroads of America.”
Benjamin Harrison Home
Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States of America, was a native of Indiana. He raised a regiment during the Civil War, and fought as a general on the Union side. Interestingly, he was preceded in the presidency by Grover Cleveland and was, oddly enough, succeeded by the same man! Other aspects of his presidency were how his federal spending exceeded $1 billion for the first time in American history; he started the process of preserving places of natural beauty; and he strengthened the United States by modernizing the navy, making it the 5th most powerful in the world. This later may have come in handy for the coming First World War.
As a very interesting president, his home was just as special in that 70-80% of the furniture is both authentic (not replicas) and on display.
Benjamin Harrison’s Parlor
You can see his prodigious library, the many of the gifts that he was given in life, including a strange chair given by a Texan…
Benjamin Harrison’s Chair
…made of Longhorn horns, a bobcat hide seat, and the overall look of Texas tacky. We also saw his death bed, which was covered with the same comforter he used…
Benjamin Harrison’s Bed
…which was not Texas-Tacky, but was tacky-cool.
Harrison was a volunteer fireman, and the staircase was fashioned from a fireman’s hose…
…the home’s foyer was adorned with a 38-star flag (reflecting the number of states when Harrison took office)…
…and his desk was the height of 19th-century organization which, in our book, beats 21st century simplicity.
Benjamin Harrison Desk
However, such an artifact was in no way detrimental to the rest of the home’s beauty…
Paul Oliver and Brian Aldaco at the Harrison Home
…almost comparable to our next item on the day’s itinerary.
Indianapolis Museum of Art
After leaving the home, we soon reached the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The art museum, to our pleasant surprise, shared a few similarities with Harrison’s home in that within the halls were exhibited works by Jacob Cox. Cox’s works were also present inside the Hoosier president’s parlor room. He and other Indiana artists were being commemorated in the “19th Stars” special museum exhibit which included renewed artists of talent such as T.C. Steele, Robert Indiana, and George Rickey among others.
George Rickey Art
After appreciating sights of silver mobiles, beautiful landscapes, and painted canvases with the intent to reflect on society’s morals, all from the creativity of Indiana natives, we continued on through the halls of the museum.
Nearing the first exhibit room we noticed that the art had been arranged in chronological order, allowing us to view a sort of art evolution. Beginning with the realist school of American painters such as Charles Wilson Peale…
“George Washington,” by Charles Wilson Peale
…Albert Bierstadt…
“Alaska” by Albert Bierstadt
and John Haberle, we were further schooled in the art of capturing the essence of reality. Such an aspect in art was truly captured in Haberle’s depiction of American currency in U.S.A. (1889). The oil painting was mistaken for real money upon unveiling which caused near tremulous sensation as viewers claimed the artist had glued money on a canvas. We later saw paintings of other American artists which we had seen on previous museums such as those by Georgia O’Keefe and a very expressive Norman Rockwell by the name of The Love Song.
“Love Song,” by Norman Rockwell
Throughout the other rooms we viewed other artists of remarkable ability, one of which was George Seurat who rightfully deserves the description. His pioneered pointillism-style of expression inspired fellow talented impressionists of his time such as Paul Signac, Henry Van de Velde, Camille Pissarro (these being among Brian’s favorites), and Van Gogh.
Van Gogh Landscape
Wandering through the other rooms we were delighted upon nearing a ver peculiar modernist painting by the name of Man and Woman. In a style resembling that of Picasso’s cubism, the shapes of color and shadows form two figures, a man and a woman, embracing each other’s kiss. Even though the depiction in itself was phenomenal, it was the man behind the brush strokes, Fernand Leger, that caught our attention. Between the years of 1948 and 1950 a young Huntsville artist by the name of David Adickes traveled to France to study art under the teachings of Leger. Adickes, as any Hunstvillian may know, was the talented sculptor who erected the Sam Houston statute which towers at the town’s edge. Satisfied that we were able to identify with one of the celebrated artists, we toured some more of the halls to later exit onto the grounds. With a scenic gushing fountain, the grounds were decorated by sculptures by Roy Lichtenstein…
Brian and Roy Lichtenstein
…and Robert Indiana’s famous LOVE sculpture, which we have seen at three or more art museums throughout the US.
Robert Indiana and Roy Lichtenstein’s Artwork on the Lawn of Indianapolis Museum of Art
Robert Indiana, interestingly, was born Robert Clark. But he changed his name to honor his home state. Interestingly, one of his pieces, a 12-foot LOVE sculpture (which are obviously not unique) recently sold for 4.1 million dollars.
After enjoying the green fields of artistic delight, we regrouped in our mini-van and buckled up for our stretch towards the end of our trip. As we only have one more day left in our Mid-Western tour, we arrived in our hotel late at night eager to get some rest and prepare for an exciting last day of our odyssey, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 