U. partisans regroup after contentious election year

After President George W. Bush's successful bid for re-election, the Penn College Republicans have been content to spend some time celebrating before returning to action.

Their Democratic counterparts, though, are already rolling. They held a general meeting Tuesday and have a political speaker event scheduled for next week to try to take advantage of current student interest in politics.

The first Penn College Democrats meeting since Election Day attracted about 75 students.

"It was good to have a strong showing after the election," College Democrats President Rich Eisenberg said. "It really shows people are as motivated to work ... as ever."

Joking that he's had more time to eat and sleep since the election, Eisenberg said he was disappointed but remains optimistic about the future of both his group and party.

"There's still a lot to fight for, and it's really good that people really seem to get that," he said.

He already has his eyes on future races.

"I certainly think it is important with the turnout we got in this election that we really carry it over to the smaller-level races," he said. "If we have the turnout that we've had lately, we can really have an influence on local politics."

The Republicans, too, are preparing to focus on the local elections.

"There's not a whole lot going on right now, [but] there is going to be a primary ... in May. The district attorney is going to be running, so we [have] to get signatures to get him on the ballot," College Republicans member Cory Bray said.

College Republicans Chairwoman Stephanie Steward saw the close of the election as an opportunity to increase campus activism.

"Now is a chance to bring speakers to campus [and] hold rallies," she said. "Now it's time to give back to Penn."

The group devoted much effort in the previous months to supporting the Bush campaign in the Philadelphia suburbs.

"During the off-season in terms of elections, we have to create our own headlines and our own news," Steward said, citing previous College Republicans events such as an "affirmative action" bake sale, where the price of baked goods depended on the buyers' ethnicity.

During the final months of the presidential campaigns, some campus initiatives not directly sponsored by the College Republicans had been temporarily suspended.

The Pennsylvania Independent, a conservative monthly publication, had been put on hold this fall "because everyone who was writing for the paper was so engrossed in the election," Steward said.

Although the College Republicans have scheduled their first post-election general body meeting for some time around Thanksgiving, there have been smaller get-togethers recently -- including one held by the Republican ward leader for students who worked at the polls on Election Day.

However, some group members have expressed a need for some time away from politics after the excitement of the past month.

"You know, I'm just trying not to think about it," College Democrats member Meredith Albert said. "Obviously I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to be like, 'I'm going to move to Canada.' I figure nothing is going to happen with that kind of attitude."

She noted, however, that other students have been reacting very differently to the re-election of President Bush.

"There's so much nonsense going on that I'm trying to take a break from it. ... It sucks, but there's no use complaining now that it's over. In four years, we'll try again," Albert said.

Bray is still basking in the afterglow of the victory.

"I've been celebrating non-stop pretty much. ... I just ordered some celebration T-shirts [that] say 'Bush Country 2004,'" Bray said.

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