Founded in 1966, the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) will convene its 57th General Assembly in November.
“Something important to note is that TISL is not just for political science students. It’s for absolutely everyone. We have people from all kinds of different majors, and the opportunities are very diverse,” said Chloe Campbell, head delegate of ETSU’s TISL delegation.
TISL’s executive council includes officers from universities across Tennessee, and many colleges also have their own TISL delegations. This year, four members of ETSU’s TISL are serving as officers for the General Assembly. Milind Chaturvedi is serving in the highest position as governor, Charlie Dorset is serving as attorney general, Macy Miller is serving as communications director and Mario Ulloa is serving as treasurer.
“A lot of times people do only think about federal politics when they think about avenues to help make change within their government, but so much happens at the state level that people don’t think about all that much,” Campbell said. “And so that’s one of the things that I think is really important about TISL. It helps people understand the power of state government and how to make changes through it.”
TISL offers a range of opportunities for college students to gain real-world experience in areas including politics, but also beyond. In addition to the executive council, there are many other roles within the branches of legislative, judicial, lobbying and media.
“We have legislators who come in, write real legislation on real community issues, present it, debate it and vote on it. We have a judicial branch that comes in and argues a real case to a panel of collegiate student judges. We have lobbyists who argue for bills. We have media members who run around and do real reporting on everything that’s happened, which gives them that hands-on experience,” Campbell said. “That’s what I think TISL is really good for. It takes everything that students find in their classroom and it gives them an opportunity to do that in a very real, very hands-on way.”
The General Assembly takes place at the Tennessee State Capitol Building in Nashville and simulates real-world experience of these various roles within the state government.
“At the end of the General Assembly, everyone in TISL votes on what bills they think represent the interests of the body the most, and then those get promoted to the actual legislature for actual legislation that we can pass in Tennessee,” Chaturvedi said.
One of the bills initially introduced by a TISL member that has since been codified into law is Tennessee’s Hands-Free Law.
TISL also has events such as Day on the Hill, which lets students meet their state officials and learn more about legislature. TISL also holds the Appellate Moot Court Collegiate Challenge (AMC3), which lets students argue an appellate case in a courtroom of their peers.
Applications for the delegation attending the General Assembly close each year at the end of August, but Campbell encourages anyone interested to reach out or attend other events throughout the school year. ETSU’s TISL delegation is planning to have several events this year that are open to anyone who wants to learn more about TISL or Tennessee state politics in general.
Some of the events planned for fall include Courtroom Conversations, a preview of the AMC3 where ETSU’s court members will present and argue their cases, and panels. In the spring, the delegation plans to focus on community engagement events. On Sept. 28, TISL will partner with ETSU’s chapter of the International Justice Mission to host Coffee in Congress. TISL also often works with ETSU Votes.
To keep up with upcoming events and application deadlines, ETSU’s TISL delegation can be found on Instagram at @tisl_etsu or on ETSU’s website at etsu.edu/students/sao/organizations/civicengagement/programs/tisl.php.
