Written by: Devin Burrow, managing editor
NASHVILLE, Tenn.— At 7:00 am Wednesday morning, Feb. 18, Bryan College student government association (SGA) visited Nashville to tour the state capitol building and to meet with local lawmakers about the responsibilities of the office. They also asked about the importance of Bryan College to their districts and re-elections. I serve on the student government as the male senior senator and got to experience this trip first-hand.
Once arriving in Nashville, we walked from the public library to the Tennessee capitol building to begin touring at 10:00 am. We even caught a glimpse of Governor Bill Lee before he retreated into his office.
After the quick tour, we ran to an elevator that would connect us to a tunnel that leads to the Cordell Hull building, where most of the senators and representatives have offices. Here, we met with State Senator Yager.
Senator Yager has served as senator for district 12 since 2008 and currently chairs the Republican Caucus in Tennessee. Yager welcomed our team into his office and offered his time to answer questions. He was very humble and caring, especially for students who were interested in politics and government, putting other meetings he had on pause to talk with us more.
Senator Yager relayed the importance of Bryan College in his talk with us.
“Bryan is a very important institution as it gives students a Christian education and prepares them for the world, while also being an economic drive for my district,” said Senator Yager
Senator Yager also managed to get us into a quick session with the speaker of the Senate, and lieutenant governor, Randy McNally.
Speaker McNally shared fun stories and told us a little about how he does his job.
“Part of my job is figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of each Senator,” Speaker McNally said. “I have to place them in a committee that fits who they are and who they represent.”
After visiting with them, we ate a quick five-minute lunch before running to our next meeting with representative Ron Travis, whose office is just one floor under Yagers.
Our meeting with Representative Travis lasted a short 15 minutes, consisting primarily of him describing his current political ventures. These include a bill that permits hospitals to actually hire upper-level surgeons and physicians instead of contracting them out, and also a bill that would expand Medicaid.
We were also able to attend one of his committee meetings about the State Comptroller’s budget and the Senate Education Committees meeting about finances for Public secondary schools.
Overall, SGA enjoyed our time at the capitol and hope to have more interactions with our friendly politicians in Music City.
Devin Burrow is the managing editor for BryanTriangle.com. He is a senior communications major with an emphasis in digital media. Devin loves movies and cooking food for his friends and family.
