College Republicans, College Democrats and Students for Justice provide their views on key issues regarding the United States.
Dakota Gold
Staff Writer
Photo via College Democrats, College Republicans and Students for Justice Instagram Pages
Student political organizations at Winthrop University hold a range of perspectives on current events, reflecting how national issues are being discussed on campus.
These organizations hold events and meetings to stay actively involved in politics, showing college students how their voices can be heard.
Winthrop College Republicans, College Democrats and Students for Justice provide their unique point of views, while also emphasizing campus and national collaboration.
College Republicans said that issues regarding students and the surrounding community are what they prioritize.
“The College Republican organization prioritizes issues that directly affect students and our local community as a whole. So often we talk about what’s wrong with our economy, free speech, and other relevant matters to our nation,” said Landon Polasky, College Republicans president.
College Democrats believe the most important issues regarding the U.S. are investing more funding into education, abolishing or reforming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and inflation, especially due to war.
Each group takes different approaches to keep their organization and members informed on current events.
“A way to stay informed is that I try to follow a mix of political sources instead of being stuck inside a political bubble. I try to pay attention to official government data, as well as major reporting outlets,” said Polasky.
“I tend to look at both political parties and try to gain a grasp on what both parties are trying to say, especially on topics such as inflation, immigration and foreign policy.”
College Democrats agree that belief in opinions instead of factual information is a prevalent issue. They said people should look at news from multiple reputable sources from each end of the political spectrum, as they do to keep the group updated.
“We do our best to have several members stay updated on the news and are constantly sharing information with one another. We like to add to this by tabling on campus so it’s not only us that are informed but also the student body at Winthrop,” said College Democrats president, Ollie Whitfield.
Polasky said that collaboration between the College Republicans and College Democrats lowers political polarization among students on campus.
“[…] to ensure that we can lower the political polarization at Winthrop or in our community […] we try to collaborate together and answer questions and show our differences,” Polasky said.
The president of Students for Justice, Kaydence Hill, said that they work hard to address as many issues as possible. The group has bi-weekly meetings.
“We dedicate a portion of each meeting to specifically cover current events from all over the world. We provide resources on how to help, where to find more information, and how to spread awareness,” Hill said.
There is a span of opinion on current U.S. immigration issues.
College Democrats said that the country should prioritize the Constitution and human rights. “If there is an absolute necessity for immigration regulations they should be carried out legally and with dignity, respect, and due process for those involved,” Whitfield said.
Students for Justice said the U.S. has been reliant on the labor of immigrants for its entire existence. “It is hypocritical for modern America to actively try to limit and remove the presence of immigrants,” Hill said.
College Republicans believe that the U.S. should respond with both order and fairness. They believe the country has a right and responsibility to control its border, but they recognize the benefits of legal immigration.
“The country should be compassionate, but compassion without enforcement turns into chaos, and chaos obviously doesn’t help anyone,” Polasky said.
The organizations all gave statements about the United States’ involvement in Iran.
The College Republicans said that since the U.S. is already in the war that it needs to be strong and swift.
“The United States should be strong, careful, and realistic. […] I do not think the U.S. should be weak towards the Iran regime. If we’re already in this war we might as well ensure that we can end it as swiftly but as safely as possible,” Polasky said.
He continued that he does not want another endless war that costs billions of taxpayer dollars.
“It’s clearly worsening the civilian quality of life through high gas prices,” Polasky said. “So in summary, we can’t appease the Iranian government, but we also don’t need another reckless nation building mission, like a repeat of the War of Terror.”
The College Democrats said that the U.S. should immediately withdraw from Iran. “There is no reason for a war as violent and expensive as this. This is and will continue to affect more than just the U.S. and Iran,” said Whitfield.
“It affects all developing nations when the oil gets cut off and also impacts places such as Lebanon who sees violence and bombings tremendously increasing every day as a direct result of this war.”
Students for Justice also believe the war is unnecessary.
“It is perpetuating further conflict in SWANA [South West Asia and North Africa]. It also displays a ridiculous amount of attention and commitment to Israel, which is at the immediate detriment to the American people,” Hill said.
They believe that the more important issues lie within the country. For example, they believe the most important issue is the amount of funding going towards Israel.
College Democrats, College Republicans and Students for Justice, winthrop university’s, rock hill, south carolinaInstead, they believe this money should be spent on things like SNAP benefits, healthcare, homelessness relief and programs that help the American people.
