Campus News
By Jesse Dolojan, Staff Writer
Last Thursday, Take It On and Women in Politics (WIP) co-hosted a town hall featuring College Democrats and students representing Republican views on Oct. 24 in the Clocktower Lounge allowing them to voice their parties’ perspectives on political candidates and issues.
College Republicans, College Democrats and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) were each invited by Take It On to participate in the town hall, with Women in Politics helping moderate the event.
Representatives of XU Democrats Gavin Steele (left) and Jacob Wineinger (right) reiterated the stances of the Democratic party and shared their thoughts about reproductive rights and the economy.
Take It On Fellow Christian Geary, WIP President Alyssa Blandford and YDSA Vice President Teagan Fowler organized the town hall.
“I like that we were able to hear the perspective from students, because the things that politicians tell us and the things that we see on commercials aren’t necessarily the experience of college students,” Blandford said.
College Democrats sent two members of their club to speak at the town hall. College Republicans did not have any representatives present. Two students presented Republican party platforms in their place to give students a chance to learn about both parties.
The town hall debate was moderated by Women in Politics President Alyssa Blandford and Young Democratic Socialists of America Vice President Teagan Fowler.
College Republicans President Carter Long wanted to have representatives present for the event, but said that due to rushed communications with Take It On, they were unable to have anyone prepared or available.
College Democrats President Gavin Steele stressed how important it is to engage in discourse with people, even when you disagree with their stances.
“We think that we’re in a partisan world, but those are just the extremes. A lot of people are much closer to the center, and being able to have conversations about how we can progress forward, I think, is beneficial to it,” Steele said.
Steele and first-year Jacob Wineinger represented College Democrats at the town hall, emphasizing the economy and freedom as the primary issues in the election. Steele argued that state legislatures are taking away the rights of women, teachers and workers and said that Democrats are focused on providing people the freedom to make their own decisions.
In the absence of XU Republicans Emma, Schwarz (left) and Luca Filigenzi (right) presented arguments from a Republican standpoint on issues such as immigration and the economy.
“It’s important for students to continue to show up for the tough conversations and the things you don’t know about, because that’s the best way to learn–to just continue to show up and hear from your fellow students,” Blandford said. “I really believe in the power of bringing a friend or a roommate, because even if students say they don’t care about politics, it still impacts your life, and there’s a lot of really good reasons to care.”
Geary stated that Take It On will be hosting events in the future to continue fostering civil discussion on campus, with a post-election debrief being planned for November.
“During the post election debrief, we want to have people voice their concerns with anything that could happen in November,” Geary said. “We want to provide a space for constructive dialogue, making sure that people have a place where they can reasonably speak out.”
