Graves and Wyatt Attend National Model Congress
Posted Apr 20, 2017
This past February, two political science majors, James Matthew Wyatt and Seth Graves, attended attended National Model Congress in Washington, D.C. with three other Union students The five students were chosen based on their past participation in something similar to National Model Congress: Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature. Union's delegation consistently wins Best Delegation at TISL and its members serve in important positions. For example, Wyatt servesd as Lobbying Directors responsible for managing all student lobbyists at TISL while Graves serves as State Attorney General. Because these five students had successfully drafted legislation at TISL or hold a TISL leadership position, Union University selected them to compete at National Model Congress. The conference, much like TISL, involves a mock legislature and a mock executive branch of government where students get to portray real-life senators and representatives where the goal is to pass your delegation's bills through both the House and the Senate, ultimately reaching the President's desk.
The students at National Model Congress this year debated issues such as President Trump's "wall" and "travel ban", marijuana legalization, and universal healthcare. Union students most definitely stood out at the conference, winning a Distinguished Delegation award and several individual awards such as Distinguished Representative, Outstanding Representative, and Distinguished Service Awards. Union's two political science majors also held important leadership roles as Wyatt served as House Majority Leader and Graves served as Senate Minority Leader. As leaders of the two respective chambers, they helped pass legislation in each chamber and then reconcile the differences between teh two chambers.