In the months preceding the presidential election, campus political groups like the College Democrats and Run Against Bush have been working to get students canvassing, protesting and voting. But while students have been working throughout the region in favor of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, the College Republicans have been less vocal on the issue of the presidential election.
Instead, leaders of the group, including President Christopher McAuliffe '05, are choosing to focus on local elections. McAuliffe, a Herald opinions columnist, conceded that campaigning for Bush may be "hopeless" in this state.
Because Bush is not campaigning in Rhode Island, a state that traditionally goes to the Democratic candidate in national elections, the club is focusing on local races.
Leaders made this decision after what McAuliffe called the "most successful year ever" for the College Republicans. He credited the group's success last year with its ability to attract conservative speakers such as David Horowitz and Bobby Jindal '92.
This year, the club has 250 subscribers to its e-mail list and between 15-50 members who attend meetings regularly, McAuliffe said.
That's a relatively small number compared to the 1,000 people who are on the mailing list for the College Democrats. The Democrats have an active membership of about 200, according to Seth Magaziner '06, president of the Democrats.
Despite the contrast in numbers, McAuliffe is optimistic about the group's influence on the Brown community. He said that contrary to common perceptions, most Brown students "are kind of apathetic" or else are "Democrats by default."
There is a conservative presence on campus, he said, but students who do not look for it may spend their four years here oblivious to that perspective. "If you search them out, you can find the other side of the coin," McAuliffe said.
College Republicans Vice President Zack Drew '07 said being a conservative on campus is difficult at times. Drew cited class discussions as an example of "a situation where everybody would be against you" as a conservative. Most professors, he added, "tend to have a liberal spin" on economic and political issues discussed in class. But while Drew would like to see the Republicans receive more attention on campus, he said he thinks the group has been very successful, given its limited budget.
He said focusing on local elections this fall, rather than the national election, is "the only thing we can do (and) the best way to promote conservative ideas in this state." The Bush campaign does not "have a chance" in Rhode Island, he said, and the group "can do more by supporting local candidates."
According to Rob Montz '05, attitudes towards conservatives on campus are "not as bad as the reputation of Brown would suggest, but at the same time it's not where it should be." While Montz said he holds conservative political views, he is not an active member of the College Republicans and in fact was unaware that the group was still in existence.
Montz said student debates can be frustrating for conservative students because many "people who are liberal here just don't want to hear it" and refuse to listen to any arguments for Bush's reelection. Conservative students are also often criticized for voicing opinions contrary to popular sentiment on "touchy" or "taboo" subjects such as the Third World Transition Program, he said.
But overall, being a conservative at Brown is "not horrendous," he said. "It's not like everyone just dogmatically yells at you."
McAuliffe said he actually enjoys voicing his opinions at Brown, through his work as editor of the conservative magazine, the Brown Spectator, and the two years that he has worked with the Republicans. Instead of "preaching to the choir" on a conservative campus, he is "actually saying something new" to Brown students who have often told him that "Republicans are evil." The purpose of college, he said, is intellectual stimulation and exposure to different viewpoints.
McAuliffe also noted that he has found President Ruth Simmons and many professors sympathetic and willing to engage in discussion with the Republicans.
Students at Brown might have different reasons for joining the College Republicans than they would in a more conservative state, McAuliffe said, because in that environment they would have greater access to political internships. Students often become involved in the College Democrats as "a stepping stone" for political involvement, he said. But students may join the Republicans simply to "have access to other like-minded students."
McAuliffe said that while he actually considers himself a libertarian, the Republican Party is closest to what he believes in. He explained that even within the College Republicans there is a wide range of ideologies.
McAuliffe and Magaziner agreed on their eagerness to engage in activities with each other's group but expressed different opinions on how well this process has worked in the past. McAuliffe said that his group "never really entered (the voter registration project) full force," due in part to concerns over the partisan makeup of Brown's population.
"I didn't think there was such a thing as nonpartisan voter registration at Brown University," he said. "Especially when the same group funding it is announcing at their meetings bus trips to New Hampshire funded by the Kerry campaign."
In the past, the two groups have engaged in public debates. McAuliffe cited a recent debate, sponsored by the Brown Debating Union, as an example of the groups' interaction. But the debate club's event is the only one the groups have had so far.
Both McAuliffe and Magaziner voiced great interest in organizing more debates between the two clubs. While Magaziner expressed disappointment that the monthly debate idea never took hold, McAuliffe pointed out that other groups like the debating union and American Civil Liberties Union sponsor many debates in which the two clubs can participate.
