WMU Political Science News 2019 - Undergraduate News
Undergraduate student news
- Lauren LaLonde has literally studied around the world! She just finished trips to Cuba and New Zealand. LaLonde will graduate in the spring of 2020 with a political science: international and comparative politics major.
- Ali Tinai returned from his summer semester in Washington D.C., made possible with the David Houghton Endowed Scholarship. He interned with Education for Peace in the Iraq Center. Tinai also enrolled in a class at George Mason University.
Students in Dr. Keele’s Environmental Policy and Politics course spend the first part of the semester preparing for a trip to Lansing. They invite the community to vote on an environmental issue, research the issue, develop evidence-based arguments and then arrange for appointments with their district legislators.
New this fall, the same class hosted a Constituent and Elected Official Roundtable Discussion with Senator Sean McCann, Representative Aaron Miller, Representative Donna Lasinski, and Representative Jon Hoadley about the bipartisan package of bills "Powering Michigan Forward." Students researched and prepared materials to share with legislators and audience. Legislators were also given the opportunity to respond with where they think Michigan is going in terms of renewable energy and what they are working on terms of environmental policy. Rep. Aaron Miller shared the recent endeavors of his constituency, Mendon and Sturgis, MI will be leading the solar-farm policy making as they have sign agreements to allow solar businesses to set up on farm land. Rep. Donna Lasinski who returning Democrat to the Michigan Energy Committee, shared with us the three "tests" she uses when bills arrive on her desk. Will it be sustainable, affordable, and reliable? All in all, this experiential learning exercise was both knowledgeable and enjoyable for the students and the audience!
- Dr. Jim Butterfield's PSCI 3510:Terrorism and Political Violence students hold a United Nations Security Council simulation. Students represented countries from around the world, researched and developed arguments from the country's perspective. Utilizing experiential learning, students were able to step into the world of international policy negotiations.
MOCK TRIAL TEAM: With their new coach, Justin Workman, this year’s team had an impressive start to their season and Hannah Jones-Reiser received the "Best Witness" award in her first collegiate competition.