Elizabethtown College can seem like its own little world. We live inside a bubble consisting of homework, tests, projects, internships, jobs and quickly-approaching futures. Sometimes, it can be hard to remember there is an entire world outside with its own important issues and concerns, including politics.
Students have plenty of opportunities, here at Etown to become involved in the politics of our nation. Our political science department provides many different student-run clubs, allowing students to participate in political discussions without discriminating against party preference.
One such organization is the club Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). They believe in raising awareness in the Etown community about individual rights and constitutionally-limited government. The club is made up of over 20 students, libertarians and conservatives, who are interested in discussing the big ideas with students who feel as passionately as they do.
YAL is non-partisan and accepts all students, no matter their chosen party. They are a chapter of the similar national organization and they do what they can to find different ways to bring that organization to light to the Etown community.
YAL was founded in 2013 by senior Justin Greiss. Some of their accomplishments on campus and off include a free speech wall, a graveyard of civil liberties and many different speaking events.
But students don’t need to actively participate in on-campus clubs to be a part of the political society outside of Etown’s brick walls. Many of the classes that are a part of a student’s everyday schedule include assignments about finding and reporting on current events. Professors like to keep the students aware of the world outside of their surroundings and improve the students’ ability to reflect upon these events.
I think it’s an important initiative to stay in contact with the vast world out there beyond our campus. Students should get involved with politics and current world issues, alongside local ones. It can be quick and easy by picking up a newspaper or reading up on a news website for channels like CNN. Occasionally, even popular social media will squeeze in some news reports on Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.
Students are currently more aware than usual about political goings-on, as Election Day was this Tuesday, Nov. 4. It is important to continue following current events and politics even after Election Day, though, and now is as good a time as ever to pick up the habit of reading the news regularly.
With graduation day approaching, we will need to be prepared for what awaits us. We will soon be a part of that political society, and it’s never a bad idea to do what we can to educate ourselves.
