Now more than ever, there is a constant pressure on how political clubs operate on university campuses across America.
At Suffolk University, there are two major political party clubs: the Suffolk Democrats and the Republican Club.
It could be thought that these two clubs would disagree on opinions and constantly debate about ethics, but these conversations have yet to take place. It should be one of the main goals of these clubs to exchange ideas, hold debates and most importantly, contribute to the increased bipartisan behavior on campus.
After talking with both of these organizations, neither of them have had a plan to have debates with one another. This lack of discourse is dangerous on both sides of politics and it can lead to the assumption of others opinions and draw a line within our own campus.
Suffolk’s mission seems to have been to empower our diverse community through engaged learning and innovative thinking, and now is the time for our two political party groups on campus to do the same.
Matthew Cubetus, the president of the Suffolk Democrats, talked about his plans for the upcoming academic year in an interview with The Suffolk Journal. Cubetus wanted to focus on teaching politics, participate in service activities as a club, have discussions on different ideas and opinions to create a group of members where they feel free to share whatever they want. The vice president of the Republican Club, Dan Pelosi, had similar intentions for this upcoming year, but what sets them apart is what kind of climate they are in.
Pelosi emphasized that the sense of family within the club is the most important aspect of his agenda for the school year. Similar to a safe zone, he has created a place where Republicans can speak freely without judgment and he is most worried about having consistent members.
Most students attending the university today seem lean left and this has placed the Republican Club at a disadvantage on campus. The Trump administration has had their fair share of allegations of white supremacy, racism, corruption, as well as other hateful rhetoric’s. However, it would not be fair to carry that label to the Republicans on our campus.
A former member of the Republican Club, who decided to stay anonymous said, “My perception for the goal of the Republican Club has never been to change or influence the political climate on campus. Republicans are in the minority and when you are a Republican on Suffolk’s campus and you go to class, you very much feel like you can’t have the opinions you have, you can’t say the things you want to say without being judged.”
Even though Republicans seem to be a minority on campus that does not mean that they should not speak up. It is for that very reason why the Republican Club should raise their voice and stand up proudly for what they believe. Whether or not what they believe in is morally correct is up for discussion in the moment, not behind closed doors where the opponents do not have a say.
Ideally there should not be a student on this campus who is afraid to share their ideals in the classroom, but that does not guarantee an idea to be accepted. There needs to be discussion on both sides of the spectrum to not only show different opinions but to create a learning environment where ideas can be interchanged on campus.
