As the 2008 presidential election approaches, the question of
political activity on the Trinity College campus is of increasing
importance.
Many students such as, Sarah Gardiner '10, question the amount of
political activity among Trinity students. Gardiner points out that,
"The few protests or consciousness raising activities that happen seem
to be attended by the same general core of people. There's also not a
lot of political discussion in general. Sometimes being here really
does feel like living in a bubble."
Not surprisingly, the number of active student voters on campus is
an increasingly important area of interest. Lindsay Cline from ConnPIRG
(Connecticut Public Interest Research Group) says that while it is hard
to measure the exact amount of voting interest on campus, there was an
improvement last year when the organization registered 80 new voters at
Trinity. Voter turnout at the polling station used by Trinity students
also increased by 30 percent. When asked to comment on the apathy of
students at Trinity, Cline said, "I think like most things, there is a
large group of apathetic students, but also a large group of students
who really care."
A perfect place to find Trinity students who really do care about
current politics are the Trinity College Republicans Club and VOID
(Voices Organized in Democracy), the Democratic club on campus. Both
groups have specific plans for getting involved in the upcoming
presidential primaries and the general election.
Reid Vineis '10 of the College Republicans Club said that for the
2007 elections they will be focusing on issue advocacy, "promoting the
traditional ideals of the Republican Party; smaller government, lower
taxes, and higher personal liberty." Vineis said that they will begin
concentrating on the 2008 presidential elections once a candidate is
chosen by the Republican National Convention in September. However,
Vineis emphasized the fact that the club does not currently support one
particular nominee, but rather will support the candidate the party
nominates after the convention.
VOID is still in the planning phase of deciding its actions for the
approaching elections. According to VOID members Emily Witt '09 and Ben
Schacht '08, they hope to put together a series of debates with the
College Republicans Club and other interested groups. Witt said that,
"VOID strongly encourages and works to facilitate public political
discourse." Like the College Republicans, VOID does not officially
support a presidential candidate.
VOID has also gotten involved in local politics in Hartford. They
are currently supporting three Working Families Party Candidates and
some VOID members will be helping the party in the upcoming Hartford
City Council election. Vineis said that the College Republicans Club,
on the other hand, wishes to focus their attention where they will make
the most impact, such as a congressional race, rather than in the
politics of the City of Hartford.
Both the Trinity College Republicans Club and VOID use their regular
meetings to discuss current political issues. Witt of VOID said that
they "plan upcoming actions," such as the anti-war rally that many
members of the group recently attended in Boston. VOID is mostly
concerned with the issues of class and war, and Schacht said that they
"tend to focus on economic class as a determining factor for the
broader socio-political picture."
The College Republicans Club also uses their meetings to enjoy the
company of fellow Republicans and express their views in "an
environment that isn't hostile to a diversity of thought," Vineis said.
He feels that, "Republicans at Trinity are often chastised" because of
their political conservatism. The College Republicans Club offers them
a chance to feel free to express their views.
The issue that concerns the members of the Trinity College
Republicans Club the most is, not surprisingly, the War in Iraq. They
advocate for support of the troops, and they also feel that it would be
devastating for Iraq as well as the United States if we were to
withdraw our troops pre-maturely. Vineis said, "Whether you supported
the war, or vigorously opposed it, we should all agree that Iraq is
still fragile and a premature withdrawal would only lead to increased
violence and instability."
Political opinions aside, increasing the interest in politics among
students on campus is an important issue of many. Both VOID and the
College Republicans encourage students to vote and are working to
educate students about the importance of voting.
Cline of ConnPIRG also stressed the importance of youth across the
nation becoming more represented in elections. Politicians are not
talking about issues relevant to young people, and subsequently young
people are not voting.
Cline hopes that PIRG will end this cycle with its new national
campaign, "What's Your Plan?" They have had students ask candidates
this very question about issues that young people care about, and have
put videos on YouTube.com of students asking the candidates what,
exactly, their plans are.
ConnPIRG would like to get students involved on campus with events
such as the debate-watching party on Oct. 30. Cline also said that they
hope to hold an event for the new "What's Your Plan?" campaign at
Trinity sometime in the future.
