Daniel Williams/Collegian
Sophomore Trisha Clark and seniors Kate Zuiker and Jodi Westrick are members of the Hillsdale College Democrats.
The College Democrats and College Classical Liberals are working to broaden Hillsdale College’s political spectrum through upcoming speakers and events.
Together, the two groups are hosting a visit from former CIA agent Jim Marcinkowski on Nov. 9. He will speak about the Valerie Plame affair, a political scandal concerning the public identification of Plame as a CIA agent in a July 2003 column by journalist Robert Novak.
The College Democrats meets weekly to discuss articles and issues proposed by members and the group is planning a movie night to view a film about the death penalty.
Carmen Wyatt-Hayes, associate professor of Spanish, and the College Democrats’ faculty adviser, said the group is trying to bring Patrice Hudson, head of Hillsdale’s community action committee, to campus to speak about poverty in Hillsdale.
“The goal is to raise student body awareness of the poverty that exists in the community,” Wyatt-Hayes said.
On Oct. 18, the College Classical Liberals will host Chris Bachelder from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, who will speak on economic issues of the 1970s and 1980s.
Former College Classical Liberals president Luke Morris, a 2005 Hillsdale graduate, will give a presentation about the war on drugs on Nov. 3.
“We had about 15 people come to the last speaker we hosted,” current president Dave Frank, a senior, said. “I think upcoming ones, especially Jim Marcinkowski, will draw a lot of attention.”
The College Democrats’ membership has increased to about 50 since it began in March with five members. According to College Democrat president Kate Zuiker, about 20 freshmen expressed interest and joined an e-mail list at the Source, an activities fair sponsored by Career Planning Services and the Student Activities Board during freshman orientation.
“I think when people realize that it’s okay to have those viewpoints and still be a Hillsdale College student, the group will be more accepted and grow larger and stronger,” College Democrats secretary and treasurer Lindsay Davenport, a sophomore, said.
The College Classical Liberals is a smaller organization, with six members who are all officers.
Frank said the group changed its name from the College Libertarians because the members did not want to be affiliated with a particular political party.
The group is trying to increase membership.
“It sounds kind of juvenile, but we have a pretty good Facebook group right now,” Frank said of the 54-member Internet group.
Frank said freshman interest at the Source was very encouraging. There was a strong female response in the freshman class at the event, something he said was not common previously.
“It’s definitely great that this group exists because Hillsdale needs more diversity,” said freshman Jim Likoudis, who said he considers himself a libertarian and plans to become more involved with the group.
Zuiker and Frank said they think both groups are important because they offer political diversity.
“You can’t find truth in an environment where only one side is heard,” Zuiker said. “You need discussion in order to learn.”
“The Republicans here need to have their views challenged, otherwise it’s like a big bag of affirmation,” Frank said.
College Republicans president Justin Roebuck, a senior, said he thinks having a broader range of political views on campus is very healthy.
“Hillsdale is an easy place to be a Republican, and we have an awesome group of College Republicans,” he said. “But the College Democrats and Classical Liberals help to keep things in perspective for all of us, and it’s good to have an exchange of ideas. It would be a more boring campus without them.”