Prior to COVID-19, Elizabethtown College’s College Republicans was an active club on campus; however, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the club became inactive, as had other clubs on campus, such as the History Club, which recently restarted.

Like juniors Eric Schubert and Gavin McCabe who serve as co-presidents of the History Club, first-year Timothy Mackall expressed interest in restarting the College Republicans, which first began the process of hosting interest meetings and now reconstituting the club.

Mackall will serve as president of the club, along with first-years Kaleigh Christ, Silje Lorentzen and Elizabeth Petlick as vice president, treasurer and secretary, respectively.

The College Republicans is in the process of finding an adviser for the club.

An informational meeting was held on Friday, Oct. 22 at 11 a.m. in Nicarry 202. Approximately 10 people attended the meeting.

Despite the low attendance, Mackall noted that he has “…talked to several people who have told [him] that they are interested in joining.”

According to Mackall, the College Republicans’ first email had more than 25 people on it, showcasing the students’ interest in restarting the club.

“I have been hearing from even more people that they are interested in joining, which is awesome,” Mackall said.

Petlick said that she was prompted to get involved in the College Republicans as “…it is a good leadership opportunity, especially because there is not enough Republican representation on campus.”

The officers aim to foster a mentality of “healthy political dialogue” and Mackall noted that people can agree to disagree, but “…walk away with having a better understanding of why the other person believes what they do.”

“On campus, I hope that the College Republicans can facilitate civil discussion among the campus community and advocate for the [Republican Party’s] ideals,” Petlick said.

“We must start healing wounds in our society and that will only happen if we come together and talk,” Mackall said. “That is what I want this club to be about and that is what we can offer the [campus] community.”

The officers of the College Republicans seek to advertise that the club is “open to all.” The club, however, is in the process of reconstituting it so that they can hold meetings, along with other events for interested members of the campus community.

To reconstitute the club, Mackall first contacted Assistant Director of Housing & Residence Life for Student Activities Rina Carpenter, who then sent Mackall the club’s previous constitution to review.

“They also said they would expedite the process to get the club started since it existed before,” Mackall said. “Typically, there is a window at the beginning of the semester to register your club, so we could potentially work around that since reconstituting is different than starting from scratch.”

Mackall noted that Carpenter needed more than eight people interested in joining the club and an adviser.

“…Then I will reach out to the Office of Student Activities (OSA) again to see what else needs to be done,” Mackall said.

Students interested in joining the College Republicans should contact Mackall at mackallt@etown.edu for more information.