Going Political: What's it Like to be in a Political Organization on Campus?

By Elena Novak on September 30, 2013

College is a time of growth and change. Students suddenly displace themselves from their familiar home environment into an unfamiliar and highly influential college environment that asserts itself in the form of peers and unprecedented freedom.

As students seek to discover their identity and establish their autonomy, they seek environments within the university that foster that kind of personal growth. These environments are often clubs or organizations offered by the university. For many students, the club of choice is political.

Amnesty International – Ending Abuse Worldwide

Amnesty International at FSU was started on the Florida State campus to bring the mission of Amnesty International to the students. The mission, according to Amnesty FSU’s Facebook page, is “to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.”

Photo by John Lemieux on flickr.com

Alexandra Thomas, a senior at FSU, joined the group at the urging of the organization’s Vice President and is now serving as the executive board’s de facto Urgent Action Coordinator until December elections.

She has wanted to get involved in the organization since her freshman year. She said, “I saw posters about it and I always wanted to go to meetings but I always had class, and then that led me to my freshman year reading an Amnesty International detailed report for one of the speeches I did on maternal mortality in the United States, so that’s how I became passionate about Amnesty because I saw the quality of their work and just the depth and research they go into for certain topics.”

In her own words, she describes the organization’s mission as raising awareness for and taking action on human rights issues.

“Amnesty is part of a larger international organization that promotes the protection or making the world aware of prisoners of conscience, which Amnesty defines as people that are being persecuted by their governments or other organizations in their country for their ideas and beliefs, usually they’re political in nature, and they haven’t done any violent acts that would warrant the retaliation they’re receiving,” she said.” “Amnesty FSU helps Amnesty International as a whole promote those issues, and we also have discussions about human rights issues that are affecting us in the U.S. and in the larger community.”

In the past they have brought in guest speakers, hosted discussions, and engaged in petitioning. Coming up on October 1 they will be tackling the death penalty, which Amnesty seeks to abolish around the world, and on October 9 they will be discussing NSA and security.

The Republican Alternative – Influence and Prestige on Campus

If students find international issues too broad, there are two closer-to-home organizations that dominate most college campuses: College Republicans and College Democrats. The president of the FSU College Democrats was unavailable for comment, but Alex Holzbach, Chairman of the FSU College Republicans, is proud to represent the organization that he too heard about his freshman year.

“I saw chalk on the sidewalk – one of our best advertising techniques – and attended the first meeting of the semester. I knew entering college that I wanted to get involved in politics (and I knew I was a Republican), but I had no idea how active and influential the FSU College Republicans were,” he said. “I am blessed to have been a part of this prestigious club, and even more honored to have become the Chairman my senior year.”

The club welcomes conservatives, libertarians, moderates, social conservatives, and more, though the goal of the organization is to advocate for Republican issues and policy.

Photo by Neon Tommy on flickr.com

“The FSU College Republicans are one of the premier CR chapters in the entire country,” he said. “Our organization is dedicated to spreading the conservative message across the Florida State University campus, as well as the Tallahassee community. We work to elect Republicans at all levels of office, and have been an instrumental volunteer force for these efforts.”

Their yearly events span from private fundraisers, which keep the organization out of the pockets of Student Government, to football tailgates. And of course there’s also the political.

“Every year, we host a large gala with nationally-recognized speakers as a fundraiser. We take trips to the local Apalachicola gun range, promote conservative causes on campus, lobby our state legislators during the Florida session, tailgate before FSU football games, and always have consistent social events,” he said.

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