This coming week, several events will be held with the hope of maintaining the enthusiasm for political awareness at Boston College that surrounded the presidential elections one year ago. Several campus organizations including the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC), SPO, College Democrats (CDBC), College Republicans (CRBC), AHANA Leadership Council, and Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) are hosting events focused on increasing overall awareness among students on political issues during Political Awareness Week, a series of events set to occur this Monday through Friday.
Chrissy Pierro, executive director of the UGBC's Social and Cultural Issues and one of the chief planners for this weeks events, said Political Awareness Week was originally planned for the week of October 26th but the UGBC did not want it to interfere with Love Your Body Week.
Events throughout the week will attempt to cater to a variety of students with differing political backgrounds. Attendees at these events will have opportunities to meet College Democrats and College Republicans. Pierro thinks this week is important because "the BC bubble can be harmful in regard to students' knowledge of political issues as we often get caught up in school work or extracurriculars." BC students should strive to be well-rounded individuals, versed in political matters and "aware of what their governments and elected officials are doing," Pierro said. Pierro summed up the goal of the week when she described it as an attempt to "increase student awareness about political issues." "That's why we have different groups such as the College Democrats and College Republicans and I hope that students realize how much there is outside of BC," Pierro said.
Michael Reer, president of the CRBC and A&S '10, said that political activism still plays a big role today even though the next presidential election day is still 1,088 days away.
"The timing of this event is critical because both parties are beginning to gear up for the 2012 elections," Reer said. "Issues such as health care, the environment, the economy and national security all need to be discussed and debated if this country is going to have a clear direction going into the future."
Rachel Lamorte, the president of the CDBC, believes that Political Awareness Week can be beneficial for everyone involved. Instead of appealing to a select group of politically active students, Lamorte and others involved in making this weeks' events successful hope students across the political spectrum benefit from the events.
The aim of Political Awareness Week is not to polarize students or try to convince them of predisposed political agendas. Instead of arguing the validity of certain ideals against those of counterparts across the aisle, Reer and the College Republicans will attempt to "rethink their political beliefs and debate Republican values such as personal responsibility, free markets, and sensible environmental protection." Reer expressed a desire to "go beyond the restrictive bounds of 'liberal v. conservative' battles and really try to get at the heart of why we believe what we do." Political Awareness Week is more about different groups coming together in order to increase overall political awareness. "Political Awareness Week is great because CDBC gets to work with so many other political groups - AID, the UGBC Political Action, and the College Republicans," Lamorte said.
The timing of this event is important, Lamorte said, "because it's not a particularly large national election year." With a diminishing degree of political fervor among Americans after Obama's election last year, Political Awareness Week seeks to buck this trend at BC. Pierro believes that by having this event almost a year after Obama took his oath of office, "much of his important work, such as the recent healthcare bill, can be brought into discussion and debate." However, political awareness should not be confined to just this week. "Maintaining awareness is so important all the time, and we're trying to get this message across," Lamorte said.
Groups Sound A Call To Action
Published: Monday, November 16, 2009
Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009
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