Alexander Suarez/ Contributing Writer
The College Republicans are representing once again.
Picking up the initiative is freshman and president of the organization, Dennis Parr.
“At the Freshman Orientation I realized there was no Republican group,” Parr said. Soon after, he found out what was needed to start the organization. According to Parr, in only a short time, the College Republicans were official.
According to Parr, the College Republicans currently have 107 registered members. About 25 to 30 people show up to general meetings, according to Jesus David Borrero, the organization’s executive director.
“The one thing that unites us is our vision for this country,” said junior political science major and member, Jessie Lee Browning. “Our members represent a majority of the various ideologies in the Republican Party and we are an extremely diverse club, but we all want the same thing for this nation.”
Parr said the group “appeals to conservatives, not just Republicans.”
According to Borrero, the first issue that brings this organization to action is “to get Obama out.”
“We are very close in line with [the] Romney campaign and are doing everything we can to get him in office,” Browning said.
To help accomplish this task, Borrero said, “Basically, we’re registering voters, phone banking, [conducting] street operations and taking the conservative message to students.”
One way the College Republicans are bringing the conservative message to students is by inviting current political figures to speak to the organization during their general meetings.
Borrero said this is important in “providing education to the group.” In a general meeting, the former City of Doral Vice Mayor Robert Van Name spoke on economics. According to Borrero, the College Republicans desire to invite political figures like Sen. Marco Rubio to speak on immigration and Gov. Rick Scott to speak on education.
As for the College Republicans’ work on campus, Browning said, “This isn’t a just campaign, it’s a group of people who want to get together and share ideas. We all have an objective and a vision for this nation…. we aren’t just united for Romney, we are united because we all have a common goal and, election year or not, we will pursue that goal.”
Parr said he sees that the participation of the group after the presidential election is going toward “supporting all representatives of the Republican party” when it comes to other “local elections.”
“We are not bad people. We want what is best for America. If people think otherwise, they should do more research,” Parr said. For those who want to learn more, Parr invites them to “come and learn from us.”
According to Browning, “There is no denying that college can sometimes seem overwhelmingly liberal and College Republicans is there to remind students that, in fact, there is a strong conservative movement on campus.”
The College Republicans meet bi-weekly on Wednesday’s in the Graham Center, room 150.
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