Tuesday night marked a first on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus — the Penn Democrats and the Penn College Republicans co-hosted a bipartisan State of the Union viewing party. Close to 150 students and community members — Democrats, Republicans, Independents and all those in between — gathered in Huntsman Hall to watch the address and to engage in a discussion that followed.
The Penn Dems and College Republicans have tried to work together on a few occasions in the past but have found little success. A joint Shabbat dinner had Penn Dems board members on one side of the table and their Republican counterparts on the other, with little meaningful dialogue exchanged between them.
The State of the Union event, which I helped plan, was different in several respects. The guest list was not limited to the boards of the two organizations. The event included not only the groups’ most active members but also students who were less involved — including one who noted that the address was his “yearly dose of politics.” By opening the event to the wider Penn community, we hoped to bring a broad spectrum of ideological experiences and backgrounds into the fold.
Everyone who was there would agree that we did just that. Yes, there were the awkward moments. While I was clapping, the person I was sitting next to was indifferent — maybe even upset.
The discussion that followed wasn’t easy; it was, as President Barack Obama would say, “contentious and frustrating and messy.” A few participants even walked out. But I do believe that the majority of the group understood the power of the process.
It’s my hope that this event will be the first of many. If our discussion revealed anything, it was that students on our campus care deeply about the world around them. Though our policy prescriptions may be different, we — as the next generation of this country’s thinkers, voters and leaders — must engage in meaningful dialogue that will bring us closer to solving the public problems that endure.
There are certainly issues on which we can agree. At the city level, Republicans and Democrats alike have acknowledged the need to reform the controversial Deferred Retirement Option Plan, which provides a bonus to elected officials in addition to their pensions after retirement. Let’s put a hold on debates between the two campus groups and instead coauthor a white paper on an issue — like DROP reform — upon which we agree. Let’s work together to increase our outreach into the Philadelphia community to learn more about the challenges that our neighbors face and to brainstorm smart and effective approaches to those problems.
So — for those of you who were there, who are excited about a new community of politically minded students ready to engage and even who left the discussion with more frustration or heartache than anything else — this message is for you. I had no title or formal role in either the Penn Dems or the College Republicans before the event. Whoever you are, wherever you are, bring your thoughtful and productive ideas to the table and let’s think about the best next steps as we move forward.
Sonya Sackner-Bernstein is a College junior from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. She is a submatriculant in the Master of Public Administration program in the Fels Institute of Government.
