The trek up to the third floor of Cherry Hall transported WKU students and Bowling Green community members throughout history as WKU’s Department of Political Science hosted the “Dead President’s Tour” on Monday, Feb. 19.
Modeled after the Department of Philosophy’s “Dead Philosopher’s Tour,” the event featured a journey through American history as political science students portrayed numerous presidents of the past with speeches, costumes and props.
The tour took attendees from Abraham Lincoln all the way up to John F. Kennedy. The well-prepared presenters shared history of the lives of their respective presidents for education and entertainment.
For Dan Modlin, an attendee at the event, seeing the students’ interest and initiative for their presentations was very encouraging.
“I think most of them really kind of came alive, personalities kind of came out with it,” Modlin said. “They added a lot of good educational material, too, but it was entertaining.”
Attitudes like Modlin’s reveal interest in more events like these for students and the community to partake in.
Lucy Rutherford, a department of political science ambassador, feels that events like these can help students invest in both the world and the department.
“I think just stuff like that, getting kids involved, like seeing what political science is like, what it can do for you, was really like the ultimate goal,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford also sees other events of a similar nature to the “Dead President’s Tour” happening more in the future.
“[Political science] ambassadors have talked a lot about trying to get people more engaged in stuff that we’re doing, like opening up more events,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford encourages students to stay engaged with flyers, posters and other mediums of information posted around campus and on social media so that they can find ways to get involved. The Department of Political Science can be found on Instagram @wkupolisci and on Facebook at “WKU Political Science.”
However, open and engaging events do not have to be bound just to the Department of Political Science.
“I think any major and any department could put a spin on this and make their events interactive in a sense to where we can come and, like, enjoy it with them and ask questions and be informed,” Payton Bingham, senior international affairs major, said.
“Stuff like this is really fun,” Bingham said. “It’s really interactive. It’s more than just, like, a come and we present something or like a forum. It’s a really fun way to spread information.”
As students like Bingham show interest in events like the “Dead President’s Tour,” other departments are now being eyed to come up with their own ways to introduce others to their respective fields of study to help create a culture of opportunities and engagement for WKU.
News Reporter Cameron Shaw can be reached at [email protected].
