State Senator and Alumni Mattie Hunter gives Constitution Day Speech
As is Monmouth College tradition, the Political Science department hosted a guest speaker on September 15th, Constitution Day. The guest speaker this year was Illinois State Senator and Monmouth College Alumni, Mattie Hunter, who graduated from Monmouth in 1976. The speech and Q&A session were held on a well-attended zoom meeting which included State Senator Hunter, President Wyatt, professors; Kuppinger, Nelson, and Haq, as well as many other professors, students, staff members, other members of the college’s administration and some members of the Monmouth community. In order to encourage openness and the exchange of ideas among participants, the Zoom session was not recorded.
The session began with the introduction of State Senator Hunter, after which she gave a presentation on the history of civil rights in America and the continual struggle by marginalized groups to be allowed into the democratic process. Hunter also spoke about some of the challenges that we continue to face in the present day and the frustratingly slow boring of hard boards that is political change in the United States. After the initial speech and presentation given by Hunter, the floor was opened to all of the participants in the Zoom call to ask questions of State Senator Hunter. These questions involved topics such as Hunter’s personal history with Monmouth College, some of the major steppingstones of her career, and how she deals with negativity and the harshness of politics. Throughout the session, State Senator Hunter delivered a message of hope and determination and reminded those in attendance that change is possible if you are willing to put in the work.
Joseph Doner - Staff Writer