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Posted on November 15th 2013
Politics students meet US Congressmen
On the wet day of the 11th of November year 13 Politics students travelled to the British Library for a conference. The event was to improve our knowledge and understanding of the American political system to achieve the best grades possible in the summer, and what better way than to speak to ex-Congressmen themselves.
After arriving just on time thanks to the joys of London transport we took our seats as the honourable congressmen were presented in the form of Doug Bereuter (Republican, Nebraska) and John Tanner (Democrat, Tennessee). Professors from universities and colleges across England spilled their vast knowledge of the system from party balance to foreign policy and the Supreme Court. Each topic was followed by comments by the Congressmen who could put the knowledge in to practice and then the floor was opened to students and teachers to ask questions of their own. Naturally the Congressmen took the questions in their stride as well as giving excellent detail which we can use in the future.
At 11 O’clock the whole audience marked Remembrance Day with a respectful two minutes silence. Lest we forget.
After the conference our class spoke directly to the Congressmen asking some additional questions and seeing them on a personal level. From this we found they were very down to earth and had much in common with each other despite being different party members which was pleasing to see.
We would like to thank Mr McCann and Miss O’Keefe for escorting us to the event, as well as Eccles Centre for American Studies and British Library for organising the conference and supplying lunch.
