Seeking Republicans, again

(4/13/05)

Last Tuesday my associates and I in the College Republicans set up a table in front of Buley looking for interested parties to bolster the roster for our little club. What we got instead, was an array of shameful looks by our peers, people seeing our banner and looking away as if we were lepers or freaks. We did get some people to sign up and quite a few young men and women stopped and chatted with us, but the overwhelming majority of our classmates apparently took offense to our presence.
As you may or may not have noticed, the College Republicans have put up some new flyers around campus. These flyers were designed to peak interest in our organization as well as to get a rise out of the other political groups on campus. This new marketing campaign has already paid dividends in both categories.
People have remarked that our flyers are the best they've ever seen on campus and some other people have told us that they've taken offense at being called 'whiny, tree-hugging, fearmongering college liberals who lack ambition.' While I may be a proponent of campus warfare between political rivals, I must make sure it is known that the College Republicans are a peaceful bunch who are willing to share Southern with their left-leaning counterparts.
With the number of students attending Southern hovering somewhere in the ten-thousands, I still wonder why being a Republican is akin to being marked with a scarlet letter.
Surely not everyone on this campus has fallen for the rhetoric of the desperate Democratic Party and we all know that the socialists are even less credible in real world American politics.
This leads me to believe that the masses at southern are simply ill-informed and have not given their political affiliation much thought. Of course that is not to say that they are stupid or irresponsible, they simply do not see the importance of being politically aware.
This brings me back to the looks we received that beautiful Tuesday afternoon. What we as Republicans desire, is the opportunity to show those independent masses that being a Republican is not what the Socialists say it is, nor is it the images on the doors of liberal professors demanding the removal of President Bush. Being a Republican is about working hard and reaping your own rewards.
If you believe in a free marketplace and limited Government then you are already a Republican.
I realize that in writing this I am most likely already preaching to the converted, but on the hopes that some of those doe-eyed students may be reading this column, I wanted to clear the air and allow the reality of the Republican party to be expressed without the drivel of the Socialists or the attack dogs of the Democrats.
The College Republicans are planning countless events over the next semester and a half; the new power structure currently in place is reliable, smart, and efficient. Along with myself as the new President, the VP, Mr. Louis Maisonave, the Secretary, Mr. Chris Hayes and the Treasurer, Mr. Eric Sleeth make up the officers for this organization and all of us are reinvigorated and dedicated to the revitalization of the College Republicans as a force on campus.
I must give credit to my enemies, the Socialists because they are out there with their literature (as misguided as it is) and they have the right idea, the Republicans will be a force on this campus in the coming semesters and I ask that you attend a few meetings and decide for yourselves. The meetings of the College Republicans consist of brainstorming ideas to have events such as those honoring veterans of SCSU and events that benefit the student body as a whole. We are working on retaining a speaker for next semester, we are planning a trip to the national College Republicans conference in Virginia to see the President, the Vice President and other Republican players speak, and we are open and willing to political debates with other organizations when time allows. Mostly , we tow a moderate party line and are interested in cleaning up the name of the Republicans that has been dragged through the mud on this campus and winning over some of those students who don?t know exactly which side of the ideological fence they sit on.
If you're interested in attending a meeting they are Tuesday's at 3:15 in the Student Center, Rm. 201. On Wednesday, April 13th, the day this paper comes out we will also be holding court in front of Buley library with sign-up sheets and flyers to give out to all those interested.