#politics

Mar 24
3 min

PREVIEW: ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ invites Nashville to an interactive, political theater

The interactive, all-American play “What the Constitution Means to Me” will open at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, hauling its wave-making legacy to Music City for a strictly limited engagement. Originally starring playwright Heidi Schreck as herself, the production premiered off-Broadway in 2018 at New York Theatre Workshop before making its Broadway debut the following year. The play quickly garnered dazzling accolades for both its craft and cultural signi

Belmont named alternate site for 2016 presidential, VP debates

Lillie Burke

Aug 24, 2016
2 min

Belmont named alternate site for 2016 presidential, VP debates

Belmont President Bob Fisher announced Wednesday the university has been named an alternate location for the 2016 presidential and vice presidential debates. The announcement comes after Wright State gave up its debate-hosting privileges and previous alternate Hofstra University moved into its spot. With four debates scheduled throughout September and October, Belmont would have at most two and half months to transition from alternate to host instead of the full year of prepa

Lillie Burke

Dec 4, 2015
3 min

OPINION: We won’t let this change Paris

Four blocks. My apartment off Rue Oberkampf is four blocks away from Le Bataclan, a popular music venue where, about two weeks ago, 89 people were killed. It seems these days as if everyone in the city has some kind of connection to what happened on the 13th – in the days after we all were exchanging stories, such as “my apartment is in that arrondissement,” “I heard sirens wailing for most of the night” or “a classmate of mine was in the Bataclan”. It’s true. That classmate

Lillie Burke

Feb 9, 2015
3 min

OPINION: Email to SGA president raises questions on impartiality in impeachment proceedings

On the afternoon of Feb. 5, Student Government Association President Jeanette Morelan received an email from Braden Stover, the chairman of the Judicial Review Board, the group which deemed Morelan’s actions unconstitutional. Stover will oversee any upcoming impeachment proceedings. The email condemned Morelan’s use of the SGA Facebook page to comment on the Bill of Impeachment against her and he expressed how he was displeased with Morelan’s treatment of the board. “I strong

Lillie Burke

Aug 29, 2012
4 min

Elections Q&A: Bumgardner’s ad buys can change races

Whether you’re already sick of election ads or not, Belmonnt alumna Kati Bumgardner is probably responsible for buying the air time for at least one of them over the past few years. Bumgardner is the director of media at Fletcher Rowley, a Democratic elections firm that has produced elections commercials for around 500 clients in 45 states since 2006. In the second part on a series about political figures with Belmont ties, the Belmont Vision talked with her about her job, ho

Lillie Burke

Aug 22, 2012
7 min

Elections Q&A: Former prof leads state House as speaker

Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell is familiar with firsts. As a Belmont professor, she was one of the first Republicans to ever win office in Nashville when she was elected as a state legislator in 1988. Now, she’s the first woman in Tennessee history to become the state’s Speaker of the House when Republicans took over the body for the first time since Reconstruction in 2011. To open a series of Q&A’s about politicians with Belmont ties, Harwell spoke with the Belm

Lillie Burke

Feb 22, 2012
2 min

Is The Pill newest culture war?

I never thought it would come to this. I’ve spent a year writing columns for this college media organization, and I never thought I would cross this line. But when the federal government, both major political parties and Fox News won’t stop making a fuss over it, I have to chime in with my two cents. The issue? Contraceptives. The discussion started when the Obama administration announced it would require employers like Catholic charities and hospitals to cover contraception

Lillie Burke

Jan 25, 2012
3 min

GOP youth push Paul for president

It’s an election year, and time again to pick the next president. Some Belmont students, like a significant segment of young GOP voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, have turned to Rep. Ron Paul. “I have more faith in him than any other candidate,” said theater major Lauren Mims, who volunteered for the longtime Texas congressman during the Iowa caucuses. For some students, this is the first election where they can contribute both their voices and their votes. An

Lillie Burke

Sep 28, 2011
3 min

GOP: The race is on … and on, and on

Is it 2012 yet? During the past few weeks, cable TV seems to have turned into debate central. Although it still is three months until the Iowa caucuses, candidates for the GOP nomination have been stumping relentlessly in key primary states. The national media, as it does in every election, continues to hype up coverage for the race. Every few weeks, the media seems to prop up a new “best candidate,” someone hailed as having a chance of uniting the fractured GOP and challengi

Lillie Burke

Feb 22, 2011
3 min

Hey, wait, this is Mr. Rogers neighborhood!

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed spending cuts that would eliminate all federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in an attempt to help balance the deficit-laden federal budget. This group—also known as the CPB—funds a significant portion of PBS and NPR stations around the country. While these cuts face an uphill battle in the Senate and at the Oval Office, passing these over-the-top and intense reforms Feb. 20 is too much for such important

Lillie Burke

Oct 27, 2010
2 min

Election 2010 politics as usual

Even if you aren’t interested in politics, chances are you’ve seen a large amount of media coverage, from Fox News to “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” on the Nov. 2 midterm elections this year. This rise in interest “seems to be driven by the Tea Party phenomenon and general frustration with the government,” said Vaughn May, chair of the political science department at Belmont. The midterm elections happen two years after every presidential election. This year, the election