Politics is something we’re told you never bring up at the dinner table, the coffee shop or in the classroom. The taboo of discussing politics with others pervades both our personal and university lives, conjuring images of discord, disagreement and sometimes even violence. Mix people with differing political convictions together, and booing, jeering and fighting should result.
However, for students at the Political Science Club’s presidential debate watch party on Sep. 8, none of these assumptions held true. Students snagged slices of pizza, plastic cups of soda and sat. They chattered amongst themselves. They laughed occasionally, whether at a puzzling statement from a candidate or one that filled a square on their bingo sheets. Rather than hostility or judgment, students attended with open minds.
Political Science Club’s Vice President and a senior student in sociology and political science Shayla Trowbridge explained that the event came about as a request from Colorado Mesa University (CMU). As part of the Civic Forum and Mav the Vote series, the university wanted to encourage students to gather for the debate.
“[CMU] had this idea to have it, but they didn’t quite know how to get students involved, so they asked the political science club to help [..] What do we do to get college students out there? We get pizza […] and we make it fun, because what’s been getting more young people involved in this election […] is being able to meme-ify it […] So we came up with these debate bingos,” said Trowbridge.
Senior political science major and Political Science club President Kyle Patten explained that being informed and educated about both candidates was part of the mission of the event.
“You can get [students] together [to] see the actual truth of [the candidates…] You actually get it from the source. [We wanted to] make sure that students have that opportunity,” Patten said.
Another part of the Political Science Club’s mission is to increase civic engagement on campus, regardless of what students believe.
“I’m just trying to build a political community on campus […] where we can be informed […] and I want people to be able to think about politics from both perspectives,” said Patten.
Both Patten and Trowbridge expressed a desire to engage college age students in civics and the importance of getting the youth to partcipate in elections while also highlighting the sheer difficulty of doing it.
“[Political engagement] can be frustrating at times, because I think when you are a politically involved young person and you see how apathetic all of your peers can be about politics, it can be really disheartening […] But I think what a lot of people don’t realize is that […] if you think politics doesn’t affect you, you’re 100 percent wrong,” said Trowbridge.
However, they both remain optimistic that events such as this can help, either through awareness or breaking down the stigma that comes with getting involved.
“It just makes you feel American. We want to be civically engaged. That’s the point of democracy, right? Prove it,” said Patten.
Much like Patten and Trowbridge have stressed, these events prove to be important to raising awareness and breaking down harmful rhetoric that is so often tied with election season.
The next upcoming event in the Civic Forum and Mav the Vote series is the Club 20 Fall Candidate Debates on September 21, 2024.
