College Democrats aim to back Obama, tackle issues, ‘tap’ into on-campus liberal population

By Jonathan McFadden
mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

Graphic by Courtney Niskala • niskalac@mytjnow.comWinthrop’s College Democrats will focus on the positives of President Barack Obama’s presidency in an effort to culminate support for his 2012 reelection campaign.

Such accomplishments include the repeal of the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ policy and the president’s promised pullout of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Members will also emphasize that the nation will be unable to escape its fiscal crisis “overnight,” said Whitney Hough, president of the College Democrats and senior integrated marketing communication major. 

During a Sept. 27 meeting, nearly a dozen students laid out the issues most important to them that they would like to see addressed.

The economy was a popular choice, followed by the Catch-22 of Republican nominees, who one student implied would cause stress regardless of which one got the presidential nod.

One student threw out an idea about a debate with the College Republicans, while Hough said she hoped to get the group involved with some activities occurring during the Democratic National Convention, set to take place in Charlotte next fall. 

Since Winthrop is close to Charlotte,  Hough predicted that the university will have a “big part” in the convention.

Members also discussed the voter ID bill that still awaits approval from the U.S. Justice Department.

The voter ID bill, proposed in 2010, will mandate that citizens present an authorized form of ID before casting their ballots at the polls.

The bill has won much criticism from advocates for minorities and the elderly, who say such a bill will exclude these demographics from participating in the political process.

On Aug. 29, the Council of Student Leaders approved a resolution voicing their opposition to the bill, which also dismisses college student ID’s as viable identification for voting.

(From left) Tyler Callaway, junior business administration major; Elizabeth Yost, freshman art major; and Hampton Ballowe, freshman history major, sign to support President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Photo by Aimee Harman • harmana@mytjnow.com“Why have a bill that limits people from voting?” Hough said. “Being able to vote here is really important.” 

The meeting took a more personal turn when Hough, a newlywed, explained that she entered college as a Republican.

Her views changed over time and now, Obama’s health care package has allowed her to stay on her parents’ insurance plan until she’s 26.

Even more, the bill is handy because her husband currently doesn’t have any health insurance, she said. 

For freshman history major Hampton Ballowe, issues ranging from foreign policy to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to American involvement in the Libyan revolt are high on his list of concerns.

Regularly checking Independent, Fox News and Wall Street Journal applications on his phone, Ballowe said it’s important to “learn the other side.”

“Otherwise, you become an extremist and nobody will listen to you,” he said.

More than that, he’s concerned about the nation’s infrastructure.

“Not to quote Obama, but we can start rebuilding,” Ballowe said.

The group is also planning to buffer its community volunteering efforts, conduct a voter registration drive and make soldier care packages. 

Hough admitted that the College Democrats in the past haven’t been too active on campus, but, now she aims to change that.

“I know there’s a liberal population out there [at Winthrop],” Hough said. “We just need to tap into that.”