Student politicos support involvement, oppose apathy
By Rick Peterson
Lawrence Today magazine, Summer 2004
The country’s commander-in-chief made a two-hour stopover in the Fox
Cities on March 30, speaking to a hand-picked audience at the Performing Arts
Center in downtown Appleton. Thanks in large part to her status as vice chair
of the Lawrence College Republicans, Kim Dunlap, ’04, was among the
2,000 invited guests inside the auditorium.
More than just an observer at the event, Dunlap was assigned official duties:
escorting members of the press corps to their seats. However small, such are
the perks of political partisanship.
President Bush’s visit brought Andy York, ’05, president of the
Lawrence College Democrats, downtown as well, but for different reasons.
While Dunlap enjoyed her bird’s-eye “behind the scenes” view
of the decidedly Republican event, York joined a vocal crowd of several hundred — including
other Lawrence students and some faculty members — who lined the
downtown College Avenue sidewalk, voicing their displeasure with the president.
"I had spent the Fall Term in London and was in the middle of Trafalgar
Square when more than 400,000 people gathered to protest a visit by President
Bush,” says
York, a geology major from St. Paul, Minn.
"That was an incredible feeling. I hoped that, if we had even a fraction
of that in Appleton, we could possibly make some difference. I encouraged all
the College Democrats, along with other left-leaning students on campus,
to
come out, make some noise, and show that there are in fact Democrats and
anti-Bushers in northeast Wisconsin.”
Almost exactly a year earlier, it was Dunlap who played the role of political
protagonist when Gender Studies faculty members and students performed
a reading of Aristophanes’ anti-war comedy Lysistrata as part
of a coordinated worldwide initiative organized to show opposition to what
was at that time
still possible war in Iraq.
Dunlap was at the forefront of a group of demonstrators who picketed outside
the Science Hall Atrium where the play reading was being performed. In
addition to showing support for President Bush’s position on Iraq,
Dunlap and her fellow College Republicans were upset with what they felt
was the college
taking an official anti-war stance.
“It basically started with four College Republicans who were outraged at
the faculty and the administration and their support for this event,” Dunlap
says of the Lysistrata protest, which included more than a dozen demonstrators
and drew the attention of all the local news media. “We felt they
were supporting a political position, which we didn’t think was their
place to do.”
And so goes the push-pull by the leaders of two of the main political groups
on campus. Each practicing their own brand of persuasion to ensure that
democracy remains, as author James Bovard once said, “something more
than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.”
Dunlap, an English major from Spring Grove, Ill., who serves as the opinion
editor of The Lawrentian, credits her political position as a moderate
Republican in part to the counsel of her father, a telecommunications union
representative,
who advised her to “always be a liberal Republican or a conservative
Democrat.” While staunchly pro-life, she’s less conservative on
some social issues, including education and health care. Her experiences student
teaching last fall in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s Urban
Education Program in Chicago left her decidedly against President Bush’s “No
Child Left Behind Act.”
"My passion for education has influenced my political leaning,” says
Dunlap, who serves as secretary of the executive board of the Wisconsin
College Republicans. “When
you teach in an urban environment, you really see what effect some of these
policies have on schools. There isn’t enough funding to provide the
resources needed to handle those students coming from failing schools.
That’s
just one example, but when you see those detrimental effects, it makes
you think
of the political ramifications.”
President of the Interfraternity Council as well as the College Democrats,
York grew up with an insider’s exposure to the bureaucratic side of politics,
thanks largely to his mother, Pam Van Zyl York, ’73, a State of Minnesota
employee. His affiliation with the Democratic party stems from his passion
for making sure everyone gets a fair shot.
“I believe every human being, heterosexual, homosexual, man, woman, and
any race should have the same equal rights,” says York. “The Democratic
party seems to be the one that believes that.”
Whatever their ideological differences, both Dunlap and York say they are
as interested in promoting activism as they are agendas.
"I thought it was great that people made the effort to get out and make
their opinions known,” Dunlap says of the large turnout of dissenters
for the Bush visit. “It is extremely important to have voices across
the political spectrum, especially at Lawrence. It is important to engage
in
political dialogue with as many different people as possible. There always
are some views that students have that will never change, but it is important
to
keep an open
mind about things and to respect the other side.”
"A lot of college students are really apathetic,” laments York,
whose own political involvement includes having served as a teenage campaign
volunteer for the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone.
"The 18-24 group has always been the least politically active,” he
adds. “I
want to make them more aware that they do have a say in what goes on and
they don’t have to just sit back and watch everyone else play a role.
My number-one goal is to lose the apathy. As a political organization on
campus,
I see our
role as being an aid to the students, to help them become more educated
about political candidates and to encourage them to get out and vote.
"One thing that I find very frustrating is that there are people who feel
strongly and passionately about an issue and then don’t do anything
toward affecting that issue,” York adds. “I know it is not
easy, especially at a place like Lawrence with our academic rigors, but
people need to make
their
voices heard.”
Although the surrounding area is fairly conservative — Appleton voters
have gone Republican in the last six presidential elections, while the
district has sent Republican senators and representatives to the Wisconsin
legislature
in every election since at least 1980 — Dunlap and her fellow College
Republican find themselves in the minority on campus. With just ten “active” members,
the College Republicans are outnumbered nearly five-to-one by the College
Democrats, whose membership hovers close to 50. Students for Leftist Action,
which bills
itself as the largest student political group at Lawrence, further tilts
the balance with its 80 members.
"It has been difficult being a Republican on this campus, especially recently
with all the anti-Bush sentiment around,” admits Dunlap, who has
served as the organization’s vice chair the past two years.
“But that’s not really surprising; most college campuses tend to
swing to the left, because that is the way most students lean. We are fortunate
to have great support from the local community. The College Republicans
are the
only conservative group on campus.”
Nothing energizes a political organization like a presidential election,
and this year will be no exception. Galvanized by the war in Iraq, the
2004 race
for the White House has both student leaders anxious and excited to make
a difference on behalf of their candidate and their party.
“I’m trying to stay involved as much as possible,” says York. “The
election year gets everyone pumped up. There are plenty of people on this
campus who may believe as strongly in the same things I do, but they just don’t
seem to do anything about it. If I could get more people involved, I’d
be thrilled. But, at a school like Lawrence, time commitments are hard
to make. I feel as if I’m committing my time to something that’s
worthwhile and is actually making a difference.”
“This presidential election is particularly invigorating,” Dunlap
says. “I’m
sure a lot of people will be voting simply to get Bush out of office. You
find yourself fighting to protect his image and his presidency while the other
side is fighting at all costs
to get
rid of him. It really is an exciting time, no matter which side of the
political fence you are on.”