Tallahassee!

Jessica and I before
the six hour car ride. 

Frank and I pretending to argue in the old capitol.  

Silly Picture!

Having Dinner with Jessica Leigh
at a USF Alumni function.

First stop on our tour of the capital.
Visiting Florida Representative Rick Kriseman.

Our group in the Senate Chamber. 

Behind the podium in the Senate Chamber.

                                     

Photo taken by Thomas Boyd at the old capitol. 

                           

Our silly picture in front of the old capitol. 

                                                                             

                                                                                         The House during session.

The pictures above are just a few of the many pictures I took during my trip to Tallahassee. Senator Charlie Justice came into our classroom and informed us about the retreat to the capitol and encouraged us all to apply. The trip was sponsored by Lead Learn Serve a campus organization devoted to showing students different types of leadership. The  I couldn't believe I was chosen to go after I applied late and thought I was not going to land the spot but luck was on my side and I am glad I did. The six hour car ride was long but the passengers were very entertaining. During the trip we had one rule for food, "No eating a chains only local restaurants." Our group consisted of Senator Charlie Justice our chaperone and tour guide. Ally, Alex, Jessica, myself, Ralph, Thomas, Frank and Michael.

We began our tour of the capitol with visiting Representative Rick Kriseman a member of the Democratic party which is currently the minority party. Rick was very honest in explaining how hard it is to get a bill past when you are part f the minority. Charlie Justice a former senator and also part of the minority said "I've had bills rejected one year when it was my name on the bill but pass the next when a Republican co-authored." The simple statement shows just how party dominated our government is. Some officials would rather vote against a bill because a member of the opposite party proposed it, rather than pass a bill that will benefit the state. Not all officials are like this but everyone we talked to informed us that this  is what is currently happening in our government.

We also talked to some members that work with the cabinet. They encouraged us to look for internships even if we do not have an interest in politics. Honestly I would love intern at the capitol because it would give me some really good experience as to what goes on behind the scenes but I know I can never be a politician. I would rather work on things behind the curtain rather than hold an office. Lucy Morgan a member of the press convinced me of that. She was very cynical about our current government but encouraged us to bring some change into the system.

As a learning experience we sat in on a committee meeting, that was boring; honestly everyone in that room was bored. I expected people to be alert and listening to the bills, instead what I found was a numerous amount of iPads. The two women sitting in front f me were on Facebook talking about a picture.  This experience reminded me of class where the professor is lecturing while some students are on Facebook or surfing the web.

Senator Mike Fasano talked to us about redistricting. The district maps must be approved by a certain date so congress had to convene early to ensure the maps are approved. Since the elections are coming up for everything certain precautions have been set to protect against gerrymandering, but that doesn't stop it from happening. He also advised us not to be impressed when a member of congress says they have balanced the budget because states are mandated to balance the budget or they are reprimanded.

The Senate Chamber was my favorite part of the capitol tour. Mr. Young the bill reader explained to us how the state senate works and we were able to debate a mock bill. Since the buzz around the capitol was about the budget cuts for public colleges that will affect USF more than any other college. According to many the bottom line for the reason for the budget cuts was because USF refused to make PolyTech its own school. Many officials were upset about how the students from Tampa were treated and assured us that they will be fighting this bill. Mr. Young gave us a bill about increasing student tuition as an investment of education. I enjoyed questing the author of the bill and voting. Everything done in the Senate Chamber is formal the polar opposite of the House.

As you can see from the video above, when the House is in session it is chaos. People are walking around, talking to each other, barely even listening to the bills they are voting on. Our group even caught one representative voting for five people at once which is not allowed. The house was entertaining to watch.

Our group also toured the old capitol. It was nice to see the history and we were able to act silly. On Friday our last day in Tallahassee we toured the governor's mansion. The mansion is beautiful with a beautiful dinning room and opening sitting area.

All in all it was a great trip and I hope to return to the capitol soon hopefully as an intern.