Lauren Sandusky

Inside a courtroom in the Capitol building; Me with Liz Brater, Michigan Senator for Ann Arbor area

During the second half of my day with Sarah we sat in on an educational hearing for a panel of Senators, including Liz Brater. Representatives from the public colleges and universities in Michigan spoke to the panel about a variety of issues from state funding for the schools to enrollment trends. It was really interesting to hear each of the representatives talk about their position and purpose in the educational industry in Michigan. It definitely got me thinking about schools from a business and marketing perspective.

I also got to sit in on a conference call with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington D.C. The purpose of this conference call was to discuss pilot programs for RFID chips in cards that would allow travel between the United States and Canada. This program would limit the use of passports in transit between the two countries. I learned that the issue was important in Michigan government because Michigan wants to be a pilot for the program like Washington state will be soon. It was interesting to hear all of the different arguments for policy implementation between the different parties who participated in the phone conference.