Young Democrats? More Like Young Autocrats

At Galloway there are dozens of clubs that any and all upper learning students can participate in. They span from cooking club, to French club, to Euchre club, to a Scandinavian club. The majority of these groups are made by students for students and there is no limit to who can join. One of these is the Young Democrats club with upwards of 20 participants across four grades, including myself. We meet every couple of weeks to discuss the current political climate, policies, and ways that we can support our local politicians and government. As the school year comes to an end, we have been tasked with finding a new president for the club seeing as our current one is graduating this year. I thought that because our club is all about democracy, we would hold an election where those who want to run would campaign, hold small debates, and at the end, we would all vote to elect our new president. You know, like the democratic process that we spend our time discussing and supporting? Because this process is so vital to the ideologies and actions of the group members it feels indisputable that we partake in it every time we have the opportunity to do so. While many in the club felt that this election was the obvious choice, seeing as we have the time and resources to do it effectively, at the end of the day, these plans did not come to fruition. 

In an important club meeting just a couple of weeks ago, I arrived with the expectation that we would be beginning the process of electing the new president. I already knew who I wanted to support, how I wanted to support them, and had a growing excitement over how intriguing this election would be. When the meeting started,  I was troubled to learn that the majority of the club felt as though an organized election would be “too much work.” 

Holding an election seems like the most obvious thing that this club should do. By mimicking the process of the federal and state elections that we follow and dissect so carefully, we could learn a great deal about what it is like to be in the shoes of the politicians we support. It would be especially beneficial for the many people in the club who are considering a career in politics but still could use some exposure on what such a career might entail. A low scale, low stakes election would give everyone the opportunity to not only get a little taste for how a race works, but also to be a part of the selection of their next president and have some power over what is going on in the club.

For a club of this importance and popularity, you would think an activity that many in the group want to do would be well worth the work, but apparently many feel otherwise. You would also think that the Democratic process would be important to Democrats but it appears that that is not the case either. When I voiced these concerns to the group, I was told that this doesn’t really matter and there is no point in holding an election this late in the year, especially when many of our members are graduating soon.

This back and forth went on for the majority of the meeting: those in favor arguing that an election is exactly what the point of the club is against those who couldn’t see the merit of putting work into something that would not affect them. By the end of the meeting, the verdict was that the current class of juniors would decide amongst themselves who would be the president next year, mainly so that they can put it on their college resume. Personally, this decision made me feel unheard and powerless in one of the few environments at school where I thought everyone had an equal voice. 

The mindset of it’s not happening to me, so why should I care? that many in the group are demonstrating is ironically the exact quality that makes us dislike the politicians we share a common hatred for. The dismissal of the Democratic Process is what we, as Democrats, find so unappealing about many of the politicians in power today, making it a shock that the club is demonstrating exactly that.

When asked his opinions about this, the current president of the club stated that he believes that it is fair for everyone to get their turn as acting president in their senior year. He further explained that “Galloway’s culture forces us to take part in this hierarchy where often enthusiastic and qualified people in lower grades don’t get the same opportunities as those in the older grades because the upperclassmen would feel slighted out of their role as leaders of our community.” He argues that the main reason for this feeling of being slighted is because the grades above them got the same privilege, which he believes is an endless cycle.

I agree with almost all of what the President has to say and absolutely believe that there were genuine and well thought out reasons for the decision to be made. The only part that I do not agree with is that this cycle of unfair hierarchy is endless. It is entirely possible to end this system where upperclassmen get the privilege of being in charge, and all it would take would be fair elections in which everyone involved gets a vote. It would not change the system overnight, but the best place to start would be in the Young Democrats Club that could easily justify and facilitate a fair election that would begin to upset the hierarchy present at Galloway. 

With all of this said and done, here is my final advice to my fellow club members: hold an election to begin the shift in power that we so desperately need. Like Democrats do.

By Liza Tewari