The Socialist Student Union at Winthrop University is a political student organization that focuses on supporting the poor, creating equal opportunities for all citizens regardless of class status and exploring alternative methods to capitalist political theory.
“The purpose of the Socialist Student Union is to create a space, not only for activism but also for education. That is why most of our events center around presentations and literature and other forms of education, our goal is to kind of create a space where people can understand socialism on a realistic level,” Board Member Jessi Lessenberry said.
“I specifically wanted to join SSU is because I wanted to have productive conversation with people with like minds, and also people with differing opinions and to truly come to some level of understanding, and then use that to think outward how I can apply that in day to day life,” said Board Member Ava Senyard, discussing why she joined SSU.
“I had a friend who was an undocumented immigrant in this country, and looking at her experiences and living through her and seeing all of the hardships that she had to go through really kind of radicalized me, not only against capitalism, generally, because capitalism was one of the oppressive aspects that she had to live through, but also against just a lot of the systems in this country generally,” Lessenberry said. “Socialism is not a baby communism, as some people say and communism is not inherently bad.
“We just want a fair system to work within. I’m not asking to get things for free. I’m not asking for anything that’s radical, in my opinion, I’m asking to be treated as a person, as a human being. And I think that rights that you have as a human being do include having free health care, I don’t think that you should have to get different standards or qualities of health care based on just what you know, how much money you make. I mean, being able to live is a human right. I don’t think it’s a privilege to be able to eat, a privilege to be able to have a house, a privilege to be able to receive medical care. Socialism is for everyone. It is to liberate the working class, which is the proletariat and the majority of people in this country.”
The Socialist Student Union welcomes all students of Winthrop, socialists, curious spectators and even people who disagree with them to attend their meetings and special events. As of now, SSU gathers at Owens 101 at 7 p.m. every other Thursday. If you want more information or to reach out to SSU personally, you can find them on Instagram at winthrop_ssu.
