Brooke Bentley | Reporter
Inspired by the upcoming presidential election, the Baylor College Republicans and the Baylor Democrats are each pushing for their party’s success.
With a possible presidential victory in their sights, both organizations have events planned for the fall semester with goals of increasing membership and registering students and locals to vote in the election.
In addition to their goal of having Hillary Clinton elected as president in November, the Baylor Democrats also support state and local campaigns for their party, as well as work with organizations like Citizens for Responsible Lending and Bears Care, an on-campus organization that works to help resettle refugees.
“The Baylor Democrats are devoted, first and foremost, to creating a safe space for intellectual thought that is not necessarily the majority at Baylor University, and we really strive on being an open-minded community of people that really care for each other,” said Phoenix, Oregon, junior Micah Furlong, the Baylor Democrats president.
“We have a community outside of the organization as well, and so, of course, we’re united by our political party. But that doesn’t mean that our visions are necessarily the same, just that we have some first principles from which we can work together.”
The Baylor Democrats have already kicked off their semester. Among an extensive list of events for the semester, they invited Bill Matta, democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, to speak at 7:30 p.m. today at Common Grounds.
The Baylor College Republicans also have big plans for the year.
Included in their plans to help Donald Trump win the presidential election, the Baylor College Republicans seek to encourage students to use their votes as a voice for their opinions.
The Baylor College Republicans plan to increase membership and emphasize the social aspect of their organization, as well as increase connections with their county party.
“We’re providing a lot of incentives now like speakers and politicians, as well as ice cream socials, cookouts, a Halloween party and also a Christmas party, which will be right before finals,” said Longview senior Marivious Allen, the Baylor College Republicans co-chairman. “We want to make it more like a social club than just an organization that’s all about meetings.”
Like the Baylor Democrats, the Baylor College Republicans devote much of their time to getting involved with the local party in McLennan County.
“We love having new voices and new people. We are only strengthened by a diversity of opinions,” Furlong said.
Both groups will have booths at Late Night from 9 p.m. to midnight on Friday, and their fall semester event calendars can be found at facebook.com/BaylorCollegeRepublicans and BaylorDems.org.
