NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A cohort of Middle Tennessee State University students recently convened at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville to learn about local government, exchange ideas and opinions and propose legislation at the 55^th General Assembly of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, also known as TISL.

Universities across the state attended this four-day event, allowing 360 students the opportunity to debate and vote on public issues. Students served in various roles by choosing one of four programs — the legislative, media or lobbying programs or the appellate moot court collegiate challenge, where students assume the roles of attorneys in a court simulation.

Danny Kelley, assistant vice president for student affairs, accompanied a group of 10 MTSU students that included Denzel Harris; Katrina Aguilar; Trevor Carriveau; Hannah Ferreira; Kennedy Garrett; Rakhmat Lampkin; DeAsia Powell; Farrah Renfroe; Hunter Thornhill; and Joshua Wheaton.

“By participating in TISL, students are provided opportunities to engage in many facets of Tennessee state politics with students from across the state,” Kelley said. “From researching, writing, presenting and debating legislation as a part of the mock Senate or House of Representatives to serving as a lobbyist, Supreme Court justice or part of the media, these opportunities allow our students to acquire real life experiences in the life of Tennessee politics.”

The forum goes beyond just a learning experience by giving students the opportunity to potentially affect Tennessee legislation.

“It is important to note that some of the legislation passed has made its way to the actual Tennessee legislature for consideration, and some of those bills have even passed in those bodies,” Kelley said. “The students literally take over the chambers on Capitol Hill during this four-day period to add to their real-life experience.”

‘I’m looking out at future statesmen’

Former state Rep. Beth Harwell, the state’s first female speaker of the House of Representatives as well as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in political science at MTSU, spoke at the opening ceremony on the House floor on Nov. 21.

She discussed her years spent in the state Capitol as well as her career in higher education. Harwell then emphasized three influential figures who once sat in the same seats the university students were sitting in: Presidents James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson and famed frontiersman David “Davy” Crockett.

“As I look out, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m looking out at future statesmen — future leaders of our state that will do just as great of things as those three individuals that I mentioned did,” Harwell said. “What a wonderful opportunity to learn about the legislative process.”

She concluded her address by drawing upon the long-term impact of the event, “This is your future, and this is a wonderful opportunity to learn about how you can influence that — how you can have input into the political process. I encourage you to take advantage of this wonderful program.”

Harwell attended the Tri-Star Reception that night as well, which was sponsored by MTSU, at the Hampton Inn and Suites Capitol View Downtown hotel to speak with attendees.

“For several years, MTSU has sponsored the opening TISL reception — The Tri-Star Reception,” Kelley said. “This affords MTSU representatives an opportunity to interact with student delegates who are attending from across the state.”

Harwell also continued her tradition of meeting with the MTSU student delegation before TISL “to offer advice on possible legislation topics, provide advice on how to approach writing legislation and pointers on best practices to position legislation for passage,” Kelley explained.

MTSU student wins Carlisle Award

Denzel Harris, a senior marketing major, served as a student legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives for the fifth year in a row. He oversaw the MTSU student delegation as the head delegate and was an honoree of the Carlisle Award.

This award is presented to 10 delegates across various schools for being outstanding student legislators. It is named after Douglas Carlisle, who was instrumental in the founding of TISL in 1966.

The 22-year-old from Nashville began coordinating the dissemination of event materials, such as dates, times and deadlines for briefs and bills, and presenting this information to the student team at the beginning of the year.

He said he enjoys his role as a student legislator in the state House because, “There’s 100 people all trying to get their opinions in or get their opinions heard, and it makes it truly realistic.”

“I like the genuine, healthy debate that’s in the Senate,” Harris continued. “However, I like the realism of the representatives because without that realism of the representatives of the actual chaos that we have in the House, a lot of the people wouldn’t know what actually goes on. They’d just hear what they hear on the news.”

Harris began attending TISL each year because of his brother, James Harris, an MTSU alumnus who works for Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton at the state Capitol. He followed in his brother’s footsteps to learn how local government works, such as how bills are introduced and how the information is spread for people to learn about them, he explained.

‘Seeing how advocacy and policy intersect’

Rakhmat Lampkin, a 19-year-old sophomore global studies and human geography major, was “most excited to see the dialogue between representatives and the process of passing bills,” which he thought would be “really interesting, especially if there’s disagreements in the House or chamber.”

The Murfreesboro native attended his first TISL as a student lobbyist, which he explained matches his future career goals.

“I want to go into something that’s urban planning related and making cities more equitable and more walkable, and a lot of that does have to do with policy,” he said. 

Lampkin continued, “Seeing how advocacy and policy intersect would be really helpful for someone trying to go into the field of bettering our communities and cities because lobbying is about community effort, and you’re trying to advocate for people or for firms, so this definitely applies to my major.”

‘Fresh insight on political journalism’

DeAsia Powell, a sophomore journalism major with an entertainment journalism concentration from Chattanooga, was also a first-time TISL attendee.

The 19-year-old served as a student reporter and editor to learn more about covering state politics. 

“I saw TISL as an opportunity to not only add some experience to my resume, but to give me some fresh insight on political journalism since I became interested in politics over the past year,” Powell said.

She expressed her excitement of seeing how the TISL Times, the event’s newspaper, came together. Powell said she enjoyed hearing and writing about people’s perspectives on “such touchy topics.”

This event tied in with MTSU’s recent announcement of a new graduate degree in legal studies in partnership with the Nashville School of Law to meet the Midstate workforce need of professionals with legal knowledge. MTSU has submitted the new degree to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for final approval, anticipated in early to mid-2025. To learn more, click here.  

— Maddy Williams (Maddy.Williams@mtsu.edu)