Spring Break
New organization aims to fight political apathy on campus
Maggie Riegel
Issue date: 3/19/09 Section: News
According to "The Princeton Review," Moravian College is listed as one of the most politically apathetic colleges in the United States.
Senior political science majors Sarah Naumes and Grace Puleo have taken steps this semester to remedy this embarrassing reputation by beginning a chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) on campus.
This group, which was first started in the 1960's as one of the major movements of the New Left, Students for a Democratic Society is the nation's largest student radical movement that "promotes the active participation of young people in the formation of a movement to build a society free from poverty, ignorance, war, exploitation, racism, and sexism."
The same kind of political passion and activism is now being revived this semester on Moravian's campus.
Both Naumes and Puleo agree that apathy is not the problem at Moravian, as there are many politically active students. The problem resides in the outlets available for students to pursue such political activism.
There really is no internal encouragement within the college to motivate students to participate in political activities.
Certain bi-partisan political organizations exist, such as Moravian Democrats and Conservative Voice, yet these groups only cater to certain political parties that not every student may identify with.
SDS transcends political differences to a higher level of humanitarian concern for morality and social justice and serves as an outlet for students to engage in an open minded, student-run forum where social issues of all kinds are discussed and acted upon.
It is an organization that gives students a voice in their college community and power to affect change.
As there is no hierarchy of government positions, meetings are rotated on a weekly basis between members and activities are not limited to any particular political agenda.
One of the major messages Naumes hopes to send through the establishment of an SDS chapter on Moravian's campus is one that conveys a strong student force and demand for more power on campus.
Senior political science majors Sarah Naumes and Grace Puleo have taken steps this semester to remedy this embarrassing reputation by beginning a chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) on campus.
This group, which was first started in the 1960's as one of the major movements of the New Left, Students for a Democratic Society is the nation's largest student radical movement that "promotes the active participation of young people in the formation of a movement to build a society free from poverty, ignorance, war, exploitation, racism, and sexism."
The same kind of political passion and activism is now being revived this semester on Moravian's campus.
Both Naumes and Puleo agree that apathy is not the problem at Moravian, as there are many politically active students. The problem resides in the outlets available for students to pursue such political activism.
There really is no internal encouragement within the college to motivate students to participate in political activities.
Certain bi-partisan political organizations exist, such as Moravian Democrats and Conservative Voice, yet these groups only cater to certain political parties that not every student may identify with.
SDS transcends political differences to a higher level of humanitarian concern for morality and social justice and serves as an outlet for students to engage in an open minded, student-run forum where social issues of all kinds are discussed and acted upon.
It is an organization that gives students a voice in their college community and power to affect change.
As there is no hierarchy of government positions, meetings are rotated on a weekly basis between members and activities are not limited to any particular political agenda.
One of the major messages Naumes hopes to send through the establishment of an SDS chapter on Moravian's campus is one that conveys a strong student force and demand for more power on campus.
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admission essay
posted 12/08/09 @ 12:29 AM EST
Students for a Democratic Society does right things.
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