FSU Holds First Town Hall Meeting of Spring 2019 Semester

“How do you build a government you can trust?” It was a question commonly asked on the evening of March 5, 2019, as FSU held its first town hall meeting of the semester. The meeting was led by political science professor and Executive Director of the Beall Institute for Public Affairs Tim Magrath and hosted almost 40 FSU students and faculty.

The town hall meeting was jointly sponsored by FSU’s College Democrats, College Republicans, and National General Assembly organizations. Many topics frequenting the news today were discussed at the meeting, some of which included the U.S.’s rocky relationship with Venezuela, the progress on Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, and the school to prison pipeline. Decriminalizing marijuana was also a popular point of discussion, and many students engaged in the question of whether they think decriminalizing marijuana would affect incarceration rates.

Much of the discussion also included the university itself, and what students would like to see more of. Among those are better representation of the organizations on campus and better showcase of diversity. Some students even suggested the inclusion of a diversity center on campus, which is thought to be a possibility for the old police station eventually. The Brownsville Awareness Project, a group under College Democrats, was brought up, as many students wanted to help FSU students to learn about our campus’s past.

Town hall meetings offer an environment where students can voice their opinions and concerns about topics in today’s news, nationally, locally, or specifically on campus. Not a social science major or well-versed in politics? No worries! Town hall meetings are open to everyone, from all students, to faculty and staff, to community members. Good conversation is had and debate is encouraged on the topics that students feel strongly about. By using the hashtag #myvoiceFSU, students can also include their opinions via Twitter or Instagram on a forum that rotates throughout the duration of the meetings.

There will be two more town hall meetings this semester. To find out more about how you can help the Brownsville Awareness Project, contact College Democrats.