A Blog on McConnell Center Life

  By Megan Crowley I recently had the opportunity to compete in the American Moot Court Association (AMCA) National Finals with the McConnell Center’s moot court team. That opportunity presented itself this January following the AMCA’s newly instituted “super-regional” tournament in Lexington, during which my partner and I finished as runners-up. The week after that competition, I began preparing to travel to Texas Tech Law School Lubbock, TX and to compete alongside 32 of the nation’s top teams. That reality – that I would actually compete at nationals, and that I had actually qualified – seemed somewhat unbelievable, when I really took time to consider it.  I joined moot court my freshman year – a decision which precipitated the most difficult academic span of my life (to that point). Though I enjoyed reading the cases and drafting the argument, I felt woefully, even tragically, underqualified for much of the semester. Moot court consumed a substantial amount of time, of...

By Paighton Brooks bell hooks was an American author, educator, social theorist born and raised in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She wrote several novels and works dealing with subjects pertaining to race, feminism, and class. One of my favorite works by hooks is All About Love: New Visions is which she presents how love exists in modern society. hooks argues that the world we live in has accepted being “loveless,” and ultimately make a call to action to the reader that as a society we need to return to love. Through each chapter she details a different aspect of love. How it currently shows up through that lens, and how we can move forward in love by being actionable in these areas. She remarks that love has often been seen and described as none, but as practitioners of love we would be more successful if we use it as a verb. Love is as love does. Love is a verb. I have learned several things about myself through this book and it words have reshaped my vision of what it means to love and be...

 By Grant Avis      I’ve gotten mad the last few weeks. I saw clips from two authors detailing their new book White Rural Rage. I read Paul Krugman in the New York Times expanding on their thesis. I heard Joe Gerth had tweeted that rural Kentuckians were racist for wanting a cancer center in Bullitt County. And it all made me real mad.  White Rural Rage, written by apparent experts Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman, is advertised as “a searing portrait and damning takedown of America’s proudest citizens,” meaning rural Americans. The crux of the authors’ argument is that rural Americans don’t believe in democratic values. Rather, they are an authoritarian, violent, and ignorant collection of brutes attempting to destroy democracy - and good, educated, urban liberals need to fight back. The esteemed economist Paul Krugman agrees. In fact, Krugman has argued for years that rural America is a leech on urban America, sucking farm subsidies, social security, medicare...

By Macy Waddle      I remember the day before my seventeenth birthday, my mom told me, “Oh this year won’t be nearly as exciting as the last. Seventeen is such a weird age to be.” To be frank, I agreed with her, as I turned seventeen on November 5th, 2020, when nothing was nearly as exciting as it was before. I was pleasantly surprised with that birthday; my socially distanced field hockey banquet happened to be that day, and my then-boyfriend took me out for dinner. While unconventional, it was one of the best birthdays I’ve had, and this set the tone for the rest of my experience as a seventeen-year-old. At seventeen I experienced my first love and my first heartbreak, my first major decisions I made on my own, and a lot of memories that served as formative experiences for me (dancing to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” in my friend's backyard at ‘fake prom’ was definitively one of those).      I don’t think that this experience is unique to me either; this past fa...

By Alli Geiger        Currently, I have been trying to figure out what I want to do for my career. I have some options, all very similar, and I am in the process of meeting with people who currently have those careers. In my search, I am looking for people who have succeeded. I am looking for people who when they applied were accepted. It’s the rule of thumb. You seek advice from people who are winners. Very rarely do people ask for tips and suggestions from someone who has lost. It doesn’t make sense, does it? We seek advice and listen to those who succeed in this world. So why do we so often listen to someone who has already lost?  “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:20)  “An...

By Kelsey Raymer      Whenever I reflect on the formative moments of my childhood, there’s always one consistent experience that I recall. Every Sunday, my mom and I would have a lazy day where we would lie on the couch all day and watch copious reruns of Law and Order SVU. This show, Benson, Stabler, Finn, Munch, the various ADAs, and most importantly, the stories, have become a staple in my life. I can say confidently that it is my favorite TV show of all time. Upon multiple rewatches as an adult, I was able to see the overarching themes of each story and the alluded implications that each case would have on the justice system. With that being said, here are what I determine to be some of the most thought-provoking yet underrated episodes of this 25-year-long spectacle. 5. 24 Poison      In this episode, SVU spotlights the effects of implicit bias in the justice system by focusing on a little girl, Alexis, and the abuse she experienced at the hands of her...

By Hannah Cease      I really like dinosaurs, always have, always will. My favorite dinosaur though, no contest, is Spinosaurus as it is the longest dinosaur to have been discovered to date, growing up to 52 feet long and weighing up to 22 tons alive during the late cretaceous. How it lived though, has been a topic of recent debate in the dinosaur world. When it was first discovered it was largely accepted that it was the first truly semi-aquatic species of dinosaur. From looking at fossils it was apparent that this dinosaur had aquatic adaptations such as giant slanted interlocking teeth and jaw, and dense bones that may have helped with buoyancy control. However, the extent of its aquatic lifestyle is still up for debate.       Not much was originally known about these dinosaurs when first being truly analyzed in 2014, however it was proposed that they likely had webbed feet and would swim with its powerful legs. In recent years how spinosaurus hunte...

By Dyllan Tipton      Reflecting on my time interning with Leader McConnell has been nothing short of a dream come true. Ever since I was in 8th grade, I've been captivated by the world of politics, glued to the world news and eager to dive into matters of global significance. It was in the summer of 2018, at  a business forum in Danville, Kentucky, that I first crossed paths with Leader McConnell. Upon  talking with him, I immediately felt his amiable presence. Little did I know then that I would one day work in the office of one of America's most influential senators in American history.        When I arrived in Washington D.C. in early May of 2023, I embarked on a six-week  journey that would strengthen my understanding of politics and governance on the official side. Moving to Washington was initially intimidating for me, as it marked my first time away from  home for an extended period. The initial days were dedicated to e...

By Emily Bevins As I reflect on my time in the McConnell’s Center, I struggle with what to write as my last blog post. I have read so much and seen so much and discussed so much. My mind is full of thoughts that could be slapped onto paper, but what good would that do me? Would any attempt to summarize my collegiate experiences succeed? I don't think so. So I’ve chosen to pick the 10 books that have meant the most to me since entering college.  10. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai This book is last because while worthwhile, it is not for the faint of heart. It is incredibly sad. No Longer Human is a semi-autobiographical account of Japanese author Osamu Dazai. The book is a hauntingly beautiful expose on how the happiest people in life can also be the most damaged. Following the author from his childhood as one of the youngest sons to a wealthy Japanese businessman to his mental breakdown as a failed artist, the book paints the picture of a man tortured by his inability to meet s...