Young Republicans

During this year’s activities rush, Greg Morgan found himself surprised by the number of students interested in Young Republicans.

He wasn’t expecting as much interest because it seemed like many in the school were into Obama, he noted. 

“We had such a great turnout at the activities rush,” he said, adding that he was amazed “at how many people in the school really feel like the same way we do.”

Bottom line, one of the most active election years this country has seen is stirring up political engagement.

Juniors Morgan and Alex Brancale have been involved with Young Republicans since being freshman.Of how she got involved, Brancale noted her dad is really opinionated so,

“I just thought it would be a good way to learn more about the Republican Party” and “to develop my own beliefs.”

Brancale also was able to attend the Republican National Convention this year and saw Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin speak.

“That just made me even more interested in everything that’s going on in politics;” she said, while adding that watching Palin speak, “was really cool.”

In terms of local campaigns, Morgan said they are hoping to help out with Congressional candidate Erik Paulsen’s campaign.

“His daughter is actually in the club,” he noted.

The difficulty they face in talking up fellow teenagers about politics, “depends on the person,” noted Brancale. 

“There are a lot that are really open,” said

Morgan, but other students don’t care because they can’t vote yet.

Whether you can vote or not, “All the issues are definitely affecting everyone,” he added.

“Even though we can’t vote we’re stilling being affected by the issues and we can still help inform people and try and get our opinions out there.”

Morgan noted they’re just trying to teach other club members about the basics, “So they can form their own opinions.”

 “It makes for a good discussion when everybody is able to contribute,” added Brancale.

Young Democrats

Though members of Young Democrats have seen a lot of excitement generated from the presidential race, they’re also active with local races for Congress and the state Legislature.

The local candidates are more fun to work with because then see a more direct impact of your participating, noted Jenn Borchardt.

The group has been hosing debate-watching parties, door knocking, helping to organize this week’s voter registration drive, and members are planning to visit government classes to encourage voter registration. 

“I think it’s important that we get our student populace really to understand the issues and to see both sides of it,” noted Emily Ward.

Students will say they like a candidate but “they can’t tell you why,” she added.

That’s something that “we in particular have a mandate to fix.”

Ward said the Young Democrats are there to inform, regardless of whether a student chooses to be on the liberal side of an issue – that’s their choice.

“I feel like it’s important that they see both sides of the issue, so they can make an informed decision.”

Ward noted that the club has been able to generate quite a bit more interest than in previous years, “if only because it’s an election and everybody is all fired up.”

Kaytee Estall, another member of the group, noted that students seem to know more about the election. Part of it is that the primaries went on for so long, she added.

When asked about what issues are important to them, Borchardt noted that “education pretty much ties into just about every aspect of politics.”

Making sure schools are funded and informed about standards will impact the future of the country, she said.

“Whether or not we have people who are informed enough to help us develop technologies for cleaner energy or who can help us fix the health care problem, All that is going to come back to whether or not they were able to receive good education both in public schools and post high school.”