Jessica Chia
Reporter
Baylor’s NAACP chapter and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority are hosting a forum, “Politically Correct,” to examine political issues relevant to college students.
The forum will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Bennett Auditorium. There is no cost to attend, and all students and faculty are welcome.
The forum will begin with a nonpartisan discussion of the platforms of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, as established at their respective national conventions. NAACP and AKA members will present the discussion.
Fort Smith, Ark., senior Brittany Hudson, AKA president, said the goal of the forum is to present an unbiased discussion in order to educate students.
“We’re not in any way trying to persuade or support certain parties,” Hudson said. “We’re just going to be giving information, presenting both platforms.”
After the discussion, a question-and-answer session will begin and will focus on four key political issues: medical policy, financial policy, the current state of the nation and education policy. A representative from both the Baylor Democrats and the Young Conservatives of Texas, along with a student representative from each party that is not a member of any on-campus partisan groups, will respond to questions about the four key political issues.
Houston senior Tri Keah Henry, who is coordinating the event, said the student representatives not involved with campus partisan organizations will balance the discussion.
“They’re going to represent the typical student,” Henry said. “We’re going to discuss Obamacare, the financial state of the country, we’re going to address the question of whether or not we’re better off now than we were four years ago, and education reform.”
Henry said discussion of education reform will focus on funding at the university level.
“We want to show the student body how these policies are going to be affecting us personally,” Henry said.
San Antonio senior Maleaha Brown, president of Baylor’s chapter of the NAACP, said it is important to her organization to inform students about political issues because each vote matters and should not be carelessly cast.
“One of our principles is to inform the younger generation of political activists about the political platforms,” Brown said.
Henry said regardless of whether or not students identify with a party, they should have an understanding of each party’s goals.
“Even though you might not necessarily agree completely with one side or the other, it’s going to affect you,” Henry said. “You need to have at least a minor idea of what is going on in your country.”
