The DU College Republicans met on Oct. 4 to continue discussing their ideas about the upcoming 2012 election, important Republican figureheads and general conservative issues. In the past week, the Republicans joined forces with the DU College Democrats in order to register voters.
“This past week has been an exciting time for DU Dems and DU [College Republicans] to work together in registering well over 200 students to vote here in Colorado,” said Adam Struttmann, DU College Republican chairman. “This bipartisan effort demonstrates the willingness on both sides of the political aisle here at DU to work together, combating apathy and ignorance before we rush to attack each other.”
In the days and weeks to come, the Republicans look to pair with the DU College Democrats to promote general political awareness to DU students.
“As the two main outlets for political activism at DU, College Republicans and DU Democrats will be offering events this quarter to highlight political discourse and combat collective apathy on the part of the DU campus at large,” said Struttmann. “Both groups will be tentatively participating in a debate on a yet-to-be-determined topic on Oct. 26.”
In the meantime, the Republican Party’s primary season campaigning and debates are consistently an important topic of discussion for the DU Republicans.
“As the Republican Party is currently in primary season, electoral politics is less pervasive of an issue, although discussions and debates on current candidates in the GOP field are frequent and edifying,” Struttmann said.
Though the elections are certainly in the back of the Republicans’ minds, Struttmann said that the College Republicans are focusing on other issues for the time being.
“Since the Republican Party is still deciding on many of its candidates on federal, state, and local levels, the core of College Republicans’ campaigning will be outside of the accoutrements of elections for the time being,” he said. “Instead, College Republicans will continue to serve as a forum for intellectual stimulation, civil debate and enriching interaction between like-minded students on the Right. “
Struttmann also talked about the importance of the Republicans’ relationship with the DU College Democrats.
“Relations with the DU Democrats are very strong and positive,” he said. “In fact, DU Democrats and College Republicans interact outside of strictly formal, political settings. The true political ‘enemy’ on campus is not a College Republican nor a DU Democrat, but the forces of ignorance and apathy.”
College Republicans meet every week behind Jazzman’s in Driscoll Room Suite 1880 at 6:30 p.m.
According to Struttmann, meetings start “with a discussion of current events, where students can relay the important news of the week to each other.”
After these discussions and introductions of new members, the group conducts a “How to talk to a Democrat” session in which a common topic of debate is discussed and deliberated.
“The purpose of ‘How to talk to a Democrat’ is to educate ourselves on issues and thus allow for more intellectual discourse with our peers and rivals,” Struttmann said.
The Republicans then talk about upcoming events and ideas in different subcommittees before starting a round table discussion.
“Our round table discussion is an optional dialogue after meetings on a single issue where there is room for spirited and intellectual debate among those on the Right,” Struttmann said. “This allows for ideological diversity of thought within our group, as well as providing a forum for members to embrace our individual perspectives while retaining our identity as Republicans.”
