Paige Wassel
Editor-in-Chief
Pending SGA approval, a Political Awareness Group may soon form to encourage political education and participation on campus.
At the end of September, junior Carrie Baker sent an email to faculty, staff and students to gauge campus interest in the formation of such a group. Baker said she had over 100 email responses.
Tim Dillon, associate professor of history and humanities, was one individual who responded to the email.
“What interests me about the idea is the possibility of creating a forum in which the college community can explore the application of our faith to the political arena,” Dillon said. “But more than that, the possibility of doing so without overt political partisanship.”
Baker said that the group could help educate students about the political process by helping to locate both information on candidates in their counties and teaching students how to fill out absentee ballots.
“We not only want people to vote,” Baker said. “We want them to make informed decisions about candidates.”
Locally, Baker said she hoped the group could invite political figures to hold debates at Milligan that students, faculty and area high school students could attend. The group could also provide a forum for student debate, but Baker said that such debates would have to be referenced and researched.
Baker also said that the Political Awareness Group would probably often work closely with the Ethnic Diversity Committee.
“We’re not only dealing with American but also world politics, and how America deals with other countries and that’s very related to their goal,” Baker said.