University Panel Talks Election in Constitution Day Observance
Presidents of campus political clubs talk about students’ political views
Sacred Heart University celebrated Constitution Day Sept. 17 with an online forum that discussed the upcoming presidential election, as well as the role of political clubs on campus.
Constitution Day commemorates the date when the Founding Fathers finished writing the Constitution and sent it out to the states for ratification in 1787.
Gary Rose, chair of the department of government, moderated the discussion. The panel comprised Kolby Driscoll ’21, president of College Democrats; Matteo Menta, ’22, president of College Republicans; and Carlos Ruiz ’21, president of Pioneer Vote.
Pioneer Vote, which has 30 members, and meets twice a month, started in May 2019 with the intent of registering students to vote and raising awareness of the importance of voting and of issues that affect students at the local, state and federal levels of government. During the last academic year, Pioneer Vote registered more than 1,000 students, about 600 of whom participated in elections. This year, the club is partnering with SHU’s collegiate athletic conference, the Northeast Conference (NEC) and its voting initiative, NEC Votes, to continue to raise awareness. It also has conducted registration drives outside the Pitt Center and at the Campus Cabanas.
The club members also will be working with the University library to distribute QR codes to connect students with resources on registering and absentee voting.
“Diving into politics, for some, can sometimes be a little messy, or they believe that they’re not ready just yet, but that’s why we’re here—essentially, to be able to educate students on voting and the importance of that and why their vote matters,” said Ruiz.
Although nationally, Democrats and Republicans appear to be in what Rose calls a “gridlock,” Driscoll and Menta insist that while their respective clubs often debate, they have respect and understanding for one another. “There are really two choices you have if you want to engage in politics; two types of attitudes,” said Menta. “There’s the first attitude, which is by far the easiest, and that is to act like you are on a pedestal; like your ideas are pure and good and nothing is wrong with them. I think that’s where a lot of the problems in our country come from, is that everyone takes the easy option.”
Ruiz expanded on that line of thought, stating both parties can have negative associations, depending on whom you ask. “Being on one side or the other, there are going to be certain connotations and certain assumptions about your character: that if you lean one way, then you’re not for the people, and if you lean for the other way, then you’re just doing it for the wrong reasons,” he said.
Menta said he believes students feel safe to express their opinions around SHU faculty, but that friend groups are a large inhibitor on college campuses. “While people are definitely interested and invested in politics on this campus, I think the issue is that they’re more afraid of what their peers are going to say.”
Based on the students that Pioneer Vote registered last year, Sacred Heart students tend to lean more Republican, according to Ruiz. However, he said, “I don’t really think that one party has the upper hand. I don’t really see a lot of polarization.”The event concluded with audience questions that were submitted through a live chat. The full event can be found on Sacred Heart’s official YouTube channel.