Brenau University became a political battlefield ever since the election of the 45th President Donald Trump. Our university has seen more campus controversies, louder opinions, and more protesters than it has seen in a while. But one group of students wants to do something about their disapproval of the recent election. The College Democrats of Brenau University met for the first time Thursday, Jan. 26 in the Student Union Building at 8 pm with about 17 students in attendance.
Photocredit: Ashley Childs
“I got involved after I went to an election night watch party, and found myself upset and just wanting to do more ground work,” said junior music major, Ashley Childs, who is serving as the founding president of the organization. This is the first time the Democratic party has seen representation on Brenau’s campus, while college Republicans is restarting on Thursday, Feb. 2. Childs explained to the group that she wanted to do more than complain. With that, she got involved with the Young Democrats of Hall County, where she works closely with former state representative candidate Michelle Jones and serves as the College Outreach director. While she has disapproval for the 45th President, she does urge democrats to respect him. “You’ll never see me say F*** Trump on my Facebook or anything.”
Kyle Leineweber, sophomore History/Political Science major who serves the campus organization as Vice President, shared his personal story about his own family connections and why he decided to be a democrat. “I haven’t always been a democrat,” he told the crowd of 17. He also spoke about what it means to be a democrat, and explained the Democratic Party’s stance on topics like abortion, welfare, and others. “The democratic party is more about lending a helping hand as opposed to the Republican Party.”
Elizabeth Summerall, the executive director of the College Democrats, says she hopes to see more groundwork at Brenau University, and accountability. “I hope the college democrats unifies people and that those people hold each other accountable for the next four years,” she said, “We’re here to bring justice and equality back to the front line of politics, even if we start so small at Brenau.” Leineweber agrees. “I think there are conversations that Brenau University wasn’t having,” said Leineweber. “As far as Brenau is concerned, I simply want there to be a dialogue on this campus that isn’t happening. Whether it’s about African-American rights or more specifically, criminal justice reform. That conversation isn’t happening at Brenau University.”
The College Republicans, where freshman history/political science major Emma Johnson will serve as President, is going to have their first meeting on Thursday of this week. One might wonder if there is any competition between the two organizations. “We don’t want any competition and we won’t tolerate hate between the two. It is not our mission and it won’t help anything,” Summerall told Her Campus Brenau.
The College Democrats have not set a final time for monthly or biweekly meetings. For more information about the College Democrats, you can contact Ashley Childs, Kyle Leineweber, or Elizabeth “Libby” Summerall at collegedemsofbrenau@gmail.com. You can also like their Facebook page here.