College Republicans revived on campus

by DEVIN SCHWERS

Staff Writer

The University of Mary Washington’s chapter of the College Republicans met for the first time after being dormant for two years this past Tuesday. 

The meeting came after a three-month-long coordinated effort by current students to revive the club that began earlier this semester. According to UMW College Republicans Vice President and senior political science major Carlos Nunes, initial conversations regarding the restoration of the club’s presence on campus started in August and have been ongoing since. 

Eric Suon, presumptive co-president of UMW College Republicans, junior cybersecurity major and recent transfer student from Rappahannock Community College, helped initiate the revitalization process. 

Suon says his primary motivation for restarting the club is to facilitate diversity of thought and make up for what he feels to be a suppression of free speech on campus. Despite having no previous political experience, he hopes to foster an environment that promotes open conversation among conservative students. 

“I hear stories of students who are Republicans who feel like they don’t have an open space,” he said. “I also want to create a space for the sharing of ideas.“

Nunes echoes Suon’s motivation and says that he believes conservative students do not always feel welcome to vocalize their beliefs in the traditional campus setting.

“For me specifically, it was about adding a space for students to share things about themselves that are otherwise not permitted on campus,” he said.

Suon feels that part of the reason there has not been an attempt to revitalize the club sooner is due to his perception of the school being inherently more liberal. When approaching students on campus, Suon claimed to face direct criticism and negative reactions. 

“Whenever I first tried to get the club started, I asked a few people—like random people—and I just got mean looks from them,” he said. “And people overheard me and gave me mean looks as well.”

The UMW College Republicans club has been inactive on campus for two years, with member participation sharply declining after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 “I remember seeing stuff for it freshman year, but I haven’t seen anything since,” said Blaise Wingold, a senior communication and digital studies and theatre double major. “However, as someone who is relatively liberal, it hasn’t been something I sought out.”

During a divisive presidential election year, Nunes believes that now more than ever, there needs to be a space for Republican students to freely express their views. 

“I think now more than ever because it’s an election year and so more people are inclined to talk politics,” he said. 

Shadwick Yoder, a senior political science major and president of the UMW Young Democrats, says that having a College Republicans club will likely benefit campus engagement across the political spectrum.

“I think it’s good, and I honestly think it will help political action and civic engagement from both sides,” he said. “I think that Young Dems is going to see more people want to join the club because there’s a counter to it, and I think that those students who are more disassociated on the conservative side that may not see an outlet, I think they’re going to finally see an opportunity where they have a club of their own.” 

While the College Republicans club is still in its early stages, Suon says the executive board has already begun brainstorming potential events. Volunteering with Valor Ranch—a nonprofit that provides recreational therapy for military service members—and hosting debates with the Young Democrats club have both been proposed, according to Suon. 

“The events we foresee happening are community service events, speakers, voter education and registration drives and debates,” said Nunes. 

Suon encourages all students, regardless of political affiliation, to consider engaging with the club.

“To the students who maybe reject the idea of having a Republican party, I would invite them to the meeting and let us know why they don’t like it,” he said. “Anyone is welcome, it doesn’t matter what background, what you believe in, anyone is welcome to come.”