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BY MARY PRAGER

In print | December 6, 2007

The Swarthmore chapter of the College Republicans is in the process of being revived this year in an attempt to broaden the spectrum of political perspectives represented on campus. So far, the College Republicans have had two meetings, a YouTube Debate watching party, as well as an informational meeting in early December. The turnout at the meetings suggests that the College Republicans may be experiencing their biggest comeback in 14 years, after formal meetings stopped being held last year.

According to Justin Shaffer ‘08 and David Pupkin ’09, the leaders of the College Republicans, the group began planning the revival in September. So far, they are in the brainstorming stage and don’t have any concrete plans to report. Shaffer and Pupkin declined further comment.

Vice President Maurice Eldridge ‘61 met with the leaders in late November. He said there are no concrete plans for the Republicans, but he said that the administration is receptive to possible ideas. "We’re open, we’re responsive; we hope the other agencies on campus will be responsive too," Eldridge said. “I think diversity of perspectives and views is important for all of us, and I myself am sort of resistant to absolute labels — I think it’s very misleading, especially in this place.”

Two first-year College Republicans share Eldridge’s sentiment. “I was under the impression that there were both groups [Democrats and Republicans] on campus. I understood that the Republican group was probably going to be a smaller one, but I was surprised that it was completely non-existent,” Kate Walton ’11 said. Walton first found out about the College Republicans at the YouTube Debate party, and signed up for the mailing list.

Some hope that the comeback of the College Republicans will contribute to a more balanced political scene at Swarthmore. “I came to Swat expecting a bit more moderate political views on campus. It seems like discussions are one-sided,” Sam Griggs ’11 said.

According to an “Enrolled Student Survey” conducted by Institutional Research at Swarthmore College, of the 81 percent of students that are registered voters, 17 percent of students identified themselves as “far left” in their political ideology and six 58 percent of students identified themselves as “liberal.” Twenty percent called themselves “middle” in their political ideology and six percent self-identified as “conservative.” Zero percent called their political ideology “far right.” With the majority of students being sharing non-conservative viewpoints, the revival of the College Republicans gives moderates and conservatives a forum to express their political views.

“It’s nice to have a place where you’re not constantly being attacked for your opinions and [not] always having to be on the defensive for your political views,” Walton said. “When you do introduce any conservative point of view, it’s almost immediately refuted because people don’t take it under consideration.”

“There’s this assumption on campus that everyone shares the same liberal perspective,” Griggs said. “The degree of diversity of opinion is really how liberal you are.”

If the defiling of College Republican posters is any indication, the new club may face some opposition from the student body. Walton said that a poster in the basement of her dorm had been defaced within a brief period of time. While defiling had been done with a humorous slant, Walton pointed out that had it would mostly likely not have happened for the poster of another political group.

The College Democrats, however, are extremely positive about the revival. “The Republicans on campus felt like they wanted a group and they wanted to get some political debate on campus,” said president of the College Democrats Daniel Leigh ’09. “I think that sometimes Swat can lack political diversity. There are a lot of issues we can talk about and discussions we can have and the College Republicans can really facilitate that.”

Professor of Political Science Richard Valelly ‘75 emphasized the importance of political diversity on campus. "I think it’s important for students to be politically active on both sides of the political spectrum," Valelly said.

According to Valelly, the College Republicans were very active in the 1993-94 academic year, with five or six energetic students organizing events and a speaker series featuring big-name conservative figures.

“This caused a bit of a buzz,” Valelly said, especially among the faculty. It was at this time that the American flag came to be flown atop Parrish, Valelly said. After that academic year, the club seemed to peter out, likely as a reaction to the election of President Bill Clinton and the unified Democratic control of the government.

Valelly predicts that the ‘08 elections will inspire the strengthening of the Republican party, and that students, regardless of political orientation, will find the club’s revival interesting and worthwhile. “I hope the College Republicans grow, I really do, I think it’s good for the college, it’s good for the students,” he said.

With respect to the upcoming elections, the College Republicans and Democrats will likely be working together to involve Swat students in discussion and debate. “We look forward to doing civic engagement and working with the College Republicans,” Leigh said.

With regard to the republicans on campus, Griggs said, “We’re not the people who read Ann Coulter — we do read her for fun, but we laugh at her too.”

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