Administration

Communications

C-SC class gets taste of state government in Jefferson City
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

CANTON, MO. – The Culver-Stockton College “State and Local Politics” class traveled to Jefferson City, Mo., recently to visit the House of Representatives, State Legislature, and Supreme Court to learn first-hand how government works.

The class began the day by meeting with Brian Munzlinger, Missouri Representative to the district that includes Canton, to discuss how the House works. The class was then introduced to the Speaker of the House and given the opportunity to look around the House of Representatives before the session began. As the session started, students were introduced to the floor of the House and made honorary pages for the day. In addition to receiving a certificate for being declared an honorary page, the students attended the session, were able to interact with state legislators, and be a part of the process throughout the session.

“Watching the legislature at work was definitely the best part of the trip for me,” said Macklin Frederick, a junior history education major from St. Louis, Mo. “It was great seeing and hearing the debates that were going on between the two parties.”

After the sessions, Representative Munzlinger took the students on a tour of the House Lounge and on a climb to the dome of the Capitol.

“My favorite part of the trip was the Thomas Hart Benton mural in the House Lounge. It helped me appreciate the vivid history of Missouri,” said Megan Wellman, a junior English major from Quincy, Ill.

After touring the House Lounge and dome, the students visited the Supreme Court, including the courtroom and judges’ robing room and the Supreme Court Library.

“I was surprised at how small the Missouri Supreme Court was,” said Brittney Van Winkle, a junior history education major from Florissant, Mo. “I also enjoyed the library, but I wondered how often it gets used since a computer system holds all of the legal files.”

David Fistein, C-SC assistant professor of political science and sociology and instructor of the course, said he believes the trip to the state capital of Missouri “helped students better understand the political process. But we got much more than that,” Fistein added. “We were lucky to be there on a day when some serious debating was going on. This trip gave the students a more realistic picture of the political processes at the state level in general and in the state of Missouri in particular.”

Photo: The C-SC “State and Local Politics” class pose with Representative Brian Munzlinger behind the podium in the Missouri House of Representatives in Jefferson City, Mo.