Students and alumni gathered in McCoy Commons to discuss several current issues troubling American politics Nov. 14 at a meeting sponsored by the Elon Political Forum and moderated by senior Jackie Pascale and junior Lucia Jervis from the Elon News Network.
Discussion questions were posed by moderators and students to College Democrats, Young Americans of Liberty and College Republicans. This forum provided a "safe space" where many students were able to gain a better understanding of the different views on Elon University's campus.
“The more events like these we can have, the more I can get to understand the democratic perspective, even though I am on the opposite side of the aisle, or the libertarian’s perspective so it can further influence the way I think about things,” said College Republican member junior Michael Kaether.
Not only did students enjoy the different opinions presented, but they also appreciated the civil discussion that was lead.
Freshman Anna DuBro, a member of College Democrats, said she appreciated the platform the Elon Political Forum provided for this discussion.
“Seeing everyone be so cordial and respectable of everyone’s views is encouraging to see,” DuBro said.
Students said they were thankful to have a place on campus to where they were able to conduct debates about their political views safely.
“People are so scared to talk about [politics] so I really appreciate Elon Political Forum for putting this together,” said junior Sven Bernes, a member of Young Americans of Liberty.
Though the forum was focused around policy debate, the Elon Political Forum called on students to reach out and influence their communities and the country as a whole.
Junior Jay Schulte, the Elon Political Forum president, said he is passionate about seeing participants inspired to take action because of the discussions at the forum.
“If we can inspire even one person to do something good in this nation, I think we are doing our job” said Schulte.