By Emma Plank, Charlotte Steckart & Rayney Wilson
With the 2024 election approaching in November, students at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (UWGB) need to know how to get involved in campus political activism. Heading over to the UWGB Phoenix Connect website, students can find several 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 encourage 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 in their constitution that 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.” In an interview, Co-chair James Harris reflected on the values the College Democrats uphold and how they are dealing with the challenges of student engagement. Harris said College Democrats strives “to create a community of progressive-minded individuals on campus and engage in events [and support candidates] that kind of go along with that.”
Student engagement has been an issue with the College Democrats club for a while now. Harris believes 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 to 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 to real change.
“It is easy to feel like voting is pointless but it is only one tool in the change-making toolkit,” Harris said.
The College Democrats, maintaining an on-campus presence, hosted an event in collaboration with Planned Parenthood titled “Sex Toy Bingo.” The event was held on Tuesday, March 19 at 76pm in the Phoenix Rooms of the University Union at UWGB’s Green Bay campus. The event, which has been held several times, seeks to promote and inform people about healthy sexuality.
Students for Democratic Society (SDS)
The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) asserts that their central objective is to “provide everyone with the means to organize political goals on campus as well as in the city,” and protect 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 a 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,” SDS President Dane Snudden said. They are passionate about advocating for human rights and rallying for the Palestinian people by working on different ways to protest and show support. They met with Chancellor Michael Alexander to discuss the issue and the University’s stance on it. In tandem with this focus, they are advocating for voters to cast uninstructed ballots in the imminent April 2 spring general election in protest of President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in the Israel-Hamas war. Many people are conflicted about 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 an interview request. According to the organization’s about section on Phoenix Connect, College Republicans wants to serve as a voice for conservative students at UWGB.
Political Landscape in Wisconsin
Looking at data from Wisconsin studies, there is a split decision on presidential voting. Researchers examined the voting tendencies of registered Wisconsin voters in a recent study conducted by Marquette Law School. 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.
270toWin, a prominent American political website specializing in forecasting the outcome of the United States presidential election, recently released its findings from the latest poll conducted on March 21. According to the results, 43% 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 (DJS) at UWGB. He is the author of The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy. During an interview, Shelton was questioned about the political affiliations of students. He 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. Shelton said that “students are not shy from criticizing a particular politician.”
Shelton also discussed past events organized by the Democracy and Justice Studies program. He noted that the program has hosted candidate debates historically, 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, 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 Shelton oversees. He highlighted that DJS informed students about these events, and attendance was encouraged for their classes. Shelton emphasized that the program has also organized a 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.
