Four months after the presidential election, the Penn College Democrats and Republicans are continuing to spread awareness of current issues and policies. On Wednesday night, these efforts manifested in an informal debate.
Among the issues discussed were oil exploration in Alaska, the politicization of the legal battle over Terri Schiavo's life and the proposed reforms to Social Security.
The Republicans mostly stuck with the policies espoused by President Bush, pointing out that the rich cannot be expected to receive great returns from Social Security, which was designed with the poor in mind.
The debates also discussed the debate of the future of Terri Schiavo.
"It's disgusting how it's being politicized," Wharton freshman Michael Shiely said.
Later, the speakers were grilled by audience members on their political views and frequently reminded by debate moderator and Legal Studies professor Charles Forer to be succinct and relevant in their responses.
"What I'm hearing tonight is a lot of rhetoric and no substance," Forer said after both sides struggled to respond to questions about the source of their information.
The debate was part of the college political groups' continual efforts to maintain student interest in current events and local and national issues.
"I'm continually frustrated with the lack of interest [at Penn] in local and state issues," College Republicans Chairwoman Stephanie Steward said. "Students don't know who the governor is, for example."
Recently, the College Republicans have organized fundraising activities to aid troops in Iraq and protested the selection of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as this year's commencement speaker.
Political activism, however, does not have to take the form of protests and large-scale events.
"I think it's most important to still remain interested and passionate about politics and just read the newspaper," College freshman Priya Agarwal said.
Both the College Democrats and Republicans believe consistent interest to be the key to the success of their organizations.
"We consider any member who shows up to a meeting every now and then as active as the most active member of this organization," Steward said.
The College Democrats are also working to broaden membership: Although they have one of the largest e-mail listservs on campus, attendance at events often tops off at around 20.
