Conservative club
St. Michael's student starts a Conservative club on campus

Joan Nyamunda | staff editor

Next semester Kris Perkins, a first-year student at St. Michael's College, hopes that his Conservative club will be granted status on campus by the Student Association (S.A.).

New club in town

Perkins says he created the club because he feels that member’s of the St. Michael’s community who associate themselves with conservative ideologies are underrepresented on campus.

Gerhard Meyer and Ben Miller have an intense debate over politics at the clubs weekly meeting. Larry Frisoli, photo

“The primary focus of the club is to promote political activism on campus, and to provide a voice for members of the St. Michael’s College community who associate with conservative ideologies.” Perkins says.

The club will allow students to debate issues that affect our society today. It will also play a role of providing information to the student body about candidates from all sides. It will also provide activities which promote further involvement in politics and encourage voter registration.

“Our club features debates and plans to sponsor influential speakers.” Perkins says.

The race for status

The club is supported by Professor John Kenney of the religious
studies department and Professor Robert Letovsky of business administration and accounting. They have both devoted their time and ideas to help the club succeed.

The club only started six weeks ago.  They are focusing on being organized so that they can attain their status as a school club. In order for the club to be given status by the S.A., they have to demonstrate that as a club they have an adequate schedule of meetings and stable membership, Kenney says.

The club has already been abiding by the S.A.'s guidelines to demonstrate that we’re in compliance with their rules and regulations, says Perkins.

“They hope to do all that is necessary to get club status by the next semester,” Kenney says.

Student Support

Even though the club is not official yet, it is still opened for anyone who wants to join, Perkins says. The club already has membership of 25 students and the number continues to grow, showing a positive outcome, he says.

The stars of the Conservative club starting from the left, Jolie Frechette, Gerhard Meyer, Ben Miller and Kris Perkins. Larry Frisoli, photo

“Our club currently encompasses students with conservative ideologies, but it's reaching out to students with liberal ideologies, as well.” Perkins says.

Sophomore Karyn Norwood hopes the club will bring political knowledge and show respect for everyone’s views and it’s encouraging that students our age are getting involved in politics, she says.

Being recognized as a club will make them more active, they would be able to sponsor influential speakers to come to campus, host projector debates, faculty debates and make voter registration more accessible to students.

“We will continue to meet regardless of our status,"
Perkins says. "We’re a group of motivated individuals with a strong interest in politics and we are dedicated to our club."

Currently the club is in the process of planning faculty debates and designing an online newsletter. They don’t have future plans as of now because they are short on funds.