Written by Emma Plank, Charlotte Steckart, Rayney Wilson
With the 2024 election approaching at the end of the year in November, students at University of Wisconsin – Green Bay need to know where to look in order to get involved in political activism on campus. Heading over to the UWGB Phoenix Connect site, students can find a number of political organizations to join. However, it can be hard to discern which one will grant the types of activism a student may be looking for. How do the different organizations go about encouraging student participation and market their name to the students on campus?
While there are clubs available for focusing activism on one single issue, the three main political clubs are the College Democrats, College Republicans, and the Students for Democratic Society (formerly known as the Workers and Socialist’s Party of UWGB).
College Democrats:
The College Democrats state their purpose is “to help foster an inclusive environment for the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, […] encourage and maximize voter turnout by hosting Democratic candidates to speak about their sought-out positions, and to inform voters about the issues that these candidates are seeking to fix or remedy” (College Democrats Constitution.) In our interview with James Harris, one of the co chairs of the organization, he reflected on the values the College Democrats uphold and how they are dealing with the challenges of student engagement.
“To create a community of progressive minded individuals on campus and engage in events that kind of go along with that and support candidates that go with that too.”
Student engagement has been an issue with the College Democrat club for a while now, Harris believes that this is due to the polarization between the Democrat and Republican parties. However he believes that the key to student engagement in politics is not to focus on who to vote for but instead focus on creating ways for students to engage with topics they care about. He stresses that getting people to care about something is the first step for real change.
“It is easy to feel like voting is pointless but it is only one tool in the change making toolkit” (Harris).
The College Democrats, maintaining an on-campus presence, are hosting an event in collaboration with Planned Parenthood, titled "Sex Toy Bingo." The event will be held on Tuesday, March 19th at 7pm.
Photo above taken by Emma Plank
Students for Democratic Society (SDS):
Photo above is the Students for a Democratic Society’s Logo
The Students for Democratic Society (SDS) assert that their central objective is to “provide everyone with the means to organize political goals on campus as well as in the city”. Additionally the “ability to rally and organize themselves and others with a topic they choose”. The political organization started as an organization to improve pay/hours for workers. They are now the Students for Democratic Society to build solidarity. SDS has over 300 college campus chapters across the nation.
Currently, their primary emphasis lies on addressing the Palestine “genocide,” Dane Snudden. They are very passionate about advocating for human rights and rallying for the palestinian people by working on different ways to protest and show support. This week they are meeting with the Chancellor Michael Alexander discussing the issue and what the University’s stance on it is. In tandem with this focus, they are advocating for voters to cast uninstructed ballots in the imminent April 2nd election. Many people are conflicted on who to vote for in the Primaries and SDS says this is the best way to do it. Snudden explained that casting uninstructed ballots is one way for the democratic party to understand that they will not support Joe Biden unless more action is taken to support Palestine.
College Republicans
Despite reaching out, the Republican group did not respond to our interview request.
Political Landscape in Wisconsin
Looking at data from Wisconsin studies, there is a pretty split decision on presidential voting. According to a recent study conducted by Marquette Law School, researchers examined the voting tendencies of registered voters in Wisconsin. The study posed a hypothetical scenario, asking participants whom they would vote for if the election were held today. Results indicated an even split between support for Donald Trump and Joe Biden, both garnering 49% of the respondents' preferences. The remaining 2% of participants expressed support for other candidates.
270 to Win, an influential American political website specializing in forecasting the outcome of the United States presidential election, recently released its findings from the latest poll conducted on February 29th. According to the results, 42% of participants voiced their backing for Joe Biden, with 46% showing preference for Donald Trump. The remaining 12% indicated their support for alternative candidates.
Student Perspectives and Political Engagement
Jon Shelton is a professor and chair of democracy and justice studies. He is the author of The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy. During an interview, Professor Jon Shelton was questioned about the political affiliations of students. Shelton noted that it is typical for students to refrain from aligning themselves with a specific political party. Instead, he observed that students tend to express support or critique for particular policies rather than for individual candidates or officeholders. Professor Shelton said that “students are not shy from criticizing a particular politician”.
Professor Shelton also discussed past events organized by the Democracy and Justice Studies program. He noted that the program has historically hosted candidate debates, with the most recent occurring in 2018. During this time, the program co-sponsored debates for both the mayoral election and the state legislative seat encompassing the campus area.
Furthermore, Professor Shelton mentioned that while the program has hosted political figures as speakers, they have not been candidates. For instance, Nina Turner was a guest speaker last fall as part of The Harvey Kaye Speaker Series, which Professor Shelton oversees. He highlighted that DJS informed students about these events, and attendance was encouraged for their classes. Professor Shelton emphasized that the program has also organized conservative speaker series, aiming to provide access to diverse viewpoints without endorsing any particular candidate.
As the 2024 presidential election draws nearer, students at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay find themselves at the crossroads of political engagement and activism. With a diverse array of political organizations available on campus, students have the opportunity to delve into issues they are passionate about and effect meaningful change within their community.
In the face of uncertainty and political polarization, the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay stands as a beacon of civic engagement and activism, empowering students to make a difference in their communities and beyond.
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