Speaker Series of South Haven in the News

We kicked off the 2017 schedule with a timely and insightful presentation by David Ryden, J.D., PhD, Professor of Political Science at Hope College, and a nationally recognized authority on the Supreme Court and the Presidency.

It was a cold and windy evening, but as the audience members who came from South Haven and as far away as Niles and Grandville began to fill the Lake Michigan College, South Haven auditorium, we realized the Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, and the upcoming senate confirmation hearings were top of mind for many people in SW Michigan.

David led a lively and engaging conversation with the audience by stepping away from a typical professorial presentation, and inviting audience participation by posing eight questions and offering liberal, moderate, and conservative viewpoints. One of the questions, “How important was the makeup of the Supreme Court in the 2016 Presidential election that resulted in Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory”, was answered with post election data that suggested it was very important in the minds of people who voted for Donald Trump, and may have actually swayed the election result.

Many audience opinions were expressed about the appropriateness of President Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland, not being granted a hearing before the Senate Judiciary committee, but from a constitutional perspective, that decision, while frustrating to many, was within the law.

David noted that every US President attempts to “pack the court” with like-minded Justices because it helps assures a President’s legacy. It also provides the president with the opportunity to potentially maintain the balance of the court, reinforce the balance of the court, or, rarely, to substantially change the balance of the court.

He concluded his presentation with a thought that had many audience members thinking about what could be an unintended consequence of selecting a highly conservative justice. Justices who are conservative and closely aligned with the “original intent of the constitution” philosophy tend to view the executive branch with caution and are more likely to dampen the new President’s ability to govern through executive order. In other words, the unintended consequence of a conservative justice would be to throttle the power of the person who selected him as the nominee, President Trump.

We were impressed with the speaker’s depth of knowledge, and equally impressed with the insight of the audience members as demonstrated by their questions. Lots of great audience questions.

All of this, plus an awesome wine and cheese reception with the speaker, made for a fun and enlightening evening. Hope to see you on March 30 for our next presentation. Stay in touch with us by sharing your thoughts.

Contributed by Bob Tolpa and Mark Odland

Today is our third birthday and that’s a big deal for us. We’ve finished two highly successful years with record setting attendance in 2016, and are getting ready to launch a whole new look with our web site, Facebook page, marketing, and advertising. And wait until you see our issues packed lineup coming in 2017. Six inspiring speakers addressing topics that are impacting our lives today. A new look, an expanded lineup of speakers, and a loyal group of supporters who have been with us from the start. We are energized by you and ready to get to work with our programming that is just around the corner.

Have you noticed our new logo? Thanks to the superb photography of Dylan Nelson, we have incorporated the iconic South Haven Lighthouse into all of our marketing materials. Dylan is a very talented photographer who recently graduated from South Haven High School and is now studying marketing at Grand Valley University. He took this lighthouse image one very cold evening keeping the lens open for this spectacular photo. We think the lighthouse serves to promote our work in bringing illuminating subjects and highly informed and interesting speakers to our series. Dylan granted us permission to use this photo without charge and we are thankful for his generosity.

Speaking of generosity, did you know the Speakers Series of South Haven derives much of its support from many generous donors throughout the region? We are grateful to our supporters and corporate sponsors for their financial donations. Thank you for helping us bring talented and informative speakers to our community.

And, speaking of generosity, we are so fortunate to be led by an all-volunteer board of directors who give generously of their time, talent, and financial resources. Special thanks goes to Dick Brunvand for his wonderful videography and marketing work, together with Lisl Weiss for all of the crisp and colorful posters, flyers, and advertisements. Tom Renner continues to support us with his incredible photography and the Hodgman’s always make sure the pre-program receptions are a big hit.

We’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you think. Send us a note with your thoughts, and also share your good ideas about future speakers.
We hope to see you for our first presentation of 2017 on March 14 when David Ryden, Professor of Political Science at Hope College, will be here to present “The United States Supreme Court in the Cross-hairs”. David will discuss the current opening on the Supreme Court and share his perspective on the likely outcome. Don’t miss this one.