Student Political Groups Maintain Pre-Election Agendas
Though president-elect Barack Obama’s campaign mantra may have been “change,” some student political groups say that the arrival of the new administration will not prompt major changes in their agendas.
“We see Obama’s victory as an opportunity for change, but not change itself,” said Johanna Ocaña, CC ’10 and executive board chair of Lucha, an organization for students interested in Latino issues like immigrant and labor rights. “The outcome of the election has no bearing on our activities.”
Ocaña’s statement seems to represent the general outlook of student activism across the political spectrum.
“We’re definitely going to be fighting a lot of the same battles” as before, Jeannette Clark, CC ’10 and president of the Columbia Queer Alliance, said. She added that CQA will continue its current efforts, which include speaking out against the federal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and opening up Red Cross blood donation to gay men, a demographic that is currently banned from donating blood.
Masood Manoochehri, CC ’09 and vice president and treasurer of the Columbia University Libertarians, expressed his belief in a measured approach to the concept of “change.”
“A lot of young people have jumped on the Obama bandwagon,” Manoochehri said. “It’s important to have another voice to say, okay, look, don’t be looking for superman.”
Though student interest may have been piqued to a certain extent by the Nov. 4 election, groups say that they have seen a much more marked jump in political activism in light of current discussion about the potential return of Reserve Officer Training Corps to campus.
“ROTC definitely brought ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to the forefront of campus,” Clark said. CQA was one of many groups who used NROTC debate as a platform to voice their concerns. The College Democrats, College Republicans, and Chicano Caucus, among others, also found issues brought up by the discussion relevant to their cause. Many clubs held discussions and posted fliers around campus.
This is not to say that the presidential race and election did not generate their fair share of interest. Manoochehri explained that Ron Paul’s bid for candidacy sparked interest in the CU Libertarians.
“When he [Paul] had the national spotlight ... people saw the merits of libertarianism from a moderate perspective,” Manoochehri said. He reported a large increase in participation among members.
The results of the election also helped to attract more attention to the causes of certain campus associations. After a statewide referendum—Proposition 8—banned gay marriage in California, CQA saw increased awareness of its group, according to Clark.
“It gave us a really good avenue for discourse,” she said. “Prop[osition] 8 ... really brought people out.”
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