Spring Break
College Democrats and Republicans
NeNe Bafford
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: News
This November both major parties are represented on campus by the Rhodes College Democrats (RCD) and the Rhodes College Republicans (RCR). While the two groups may hold different political views, they both agree that students should be educated about the voting process.
"The most important thing is to keep people informed because a lot of people don't understand where their political affiliations lie," said Scot Allison, President of RCD.
"A lot of Republicans and Democrats think that they are the minority on campus and we want to make sure that people are confident in expressing their views," said Clarke Wise, President of RCR.
Even though both groups share this common goal, they have different aspirations and ideas.
RCD has focused on building their active membership.
"I have been a member of the group since my freshman year and it has never been an enormous, actively involved group," said Allison, a junior.
"There has always been a large demonstration in interest, but not active participation," said Courtney Eskew, who is the secretary of RCD.
"We held a debate party last week and we had about 10 to 15 people show up, that was pretty big for us," said Eskew.
With limited active participation, RCD still manages to meet their goals.
"Our goal is not about spreading political ideology because being a Democrat cannot be defined," said Eskew.
"Instead, we try to help each individual person understand their beliefs," said Allison.
Allison believes that the 2008 election has caused the group to increase their activities.
"It has increased our activities because it has increased students' interest," said Allison. "In non-election years, it is hard to get involvement. We may not hold many events, but I have had so many people email me and ask questions like, 'How do I register to vote?'"
While RCD has had trouble with active involvement, RCR has had trouble remaining in existence on campus.
"The most important thing is to keep people informed because a lot of people don't understand where their political affiliations lie," said Scot Allison, President of RCD.
"A lot of Republicans and Democrats think that they are the minority on campus and we want to make sure that people are confident in expressing their views," said Clarke Wise, President of RCR.
Even though both groups share this common goal, they have different aspirations and ideas.
RCD has focused on building their active membership.
"I have been a member of the group since my freshman year and it has never been an enormous, actively involved group," said Allison, a junior.
"There has always been a large demonstration in interest, but not active participation," said Courtney Eskew, who is the secretary of RCD.
"We held a debate party last week and we had about 10 to 15 people show up, that was pretty big for us," said Eskew.
With limited active participation, RCD still manages to meet their goals.
"Our goal is not about spreading political ideology because being a Democrat cannot be defined," said Eskew.
"Instead, we try to help each individual person understand their beliefs," said Allison.
Allison believes that the 2008 election has caused the group to increase their activities.
"It has increased our activities because it has increased students' interest," said Allison. "In non-election years, it is hard to get involvement. We may not hold many events, but I have had so many people email me and ask questions like, 'How do I register to vote?'"
While RCD has had trouble with active involvement, RCR has had trouble remaining in existence on campus.
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