Oh...let them eat cake...

So I wrote an editorial to be submitted to our student newspaper, The Torch....and it got published! I'm pretty excited...it was the first editorial I had submitted to the paper and I just think it's another great way to get the College Republicans name out there. Anyways, just thought I'd post it up here so you can take a look!

enjoyyyy....



Throughout every election cycle, political pundits and media outlets discuss the power of the youth vote. This being said, I took it upon myself, as well as other officers in the group, to make sure that College Republicans (CR, as we affectionately call ourselves) maintained a presence throughout campus during this "excessively political" time. In doing so, we have worked extensively with Political Action League and the Conversations Project to host voter registration drives throughout the fall months, as well as holding our own tabeling events to promote CR meetings and activities. We have volunteered for local political campaigns, as well as the Porter County Republican Party. During this week prior to the election, our group will be logging 80+ hours of volunteer work.

Could we do more? Sure. Should we do more? You bet, and we plan to. However, this is not the point.

This past Tuesday, we teamed up with Political Action League in an open political forum in which student-submitted questions could be answered by both sides. Over 50 students showed up, demonstrating that we, as a college campus, desire to be educated voters. College Democrats, an allocated student organization here at VU, failed to show. Not only were they notified, they had personally confirmed the date, time, and the content of the event. Want evidence? Their name was on the Union Board flyers that were posted around campus. This lack of participation is a complete disservice to the student body as a whole. There are democratic Obama supporters on this campus and it is incredibly unfortunate that they were not able to represent their side at the event, and instead put it open the shoulders of PAL and an informed student (it should be noted, however, that these two gentlemen did a fantastic job).

At the beginning of the year, I was thrilled to see College Dems chalking about their first meeting of the year and for the sake of healthy competition, I truly hoped that they could continue to maintain regular meetings and events. Not one person at the forum on Tuesday, including those in PAL, could provide with 100% confidence the date, time, and location of any College Democrat meetings.

So, College Democrats, we as College Republicans are calling you out, because you just missed the "biggest election" our generation has ever seen. It's too bad for us, for you, and for the rest of the student body who deserves to hear both sides. We hope to see you around soon.

Courtney Heitkamp
Co-President, College Republicans