The Government Political Association partnered with the Andrea Mitchell Center for Democracy Studies to host a political debate on March 23, 2022 featuring Penn Democrats, College Republicans, Penn Justice Democrats, and Penn for Liberty. Credit: Riley Guggenhime
Penn’s undergraduate political group spoke to The Daily Pennsylvanian about various plans for the spring semester, including speaker events, conferences and new committee formations.
Last semester, political groups encouraged student groups to participate in the 2022 midterm elections, in which Pennsylvania contested the governorship and Senate seats.
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Peter Kapp, a college freshman and political director of the University of Penn Republican Party, told DP that college Republicans will be attending the David Network conference in Washington, DC. It draws students from several of Penn’s peer institutions in the Ivy League, in addition to Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“We have a lot of prominent conservative speakers discussing issues that conservatives struggle with, not necessarily issues that we mostly agree on, but much more difficult issues,” said Kapp, who said that it was the club’s He added that it would be a good experience for him.
According to the David Network website, the conference will discuss “the cause of religious liberty and life protection, the broader conservative movement, and the structure and underlying principles of its advocates.”
Kapp added that college Republicans are also in the process of hosting more community service events. He said the student organization is looking for programming that engages Penn communities, veterans, and local schools.
“We have several ideas for speakers, from college professors at various universities, to politicians in offices, to people who are generally well versed in today’s politics,” Kapp said.
American young democratic socialist
Benjamin Moss-Horwitz, a college senior and Penn Young Democratic Socialist outreach chair, told the DP that the YDSA will continue to work closely with the YDSA chapter in Philadelphia over the next semester. .
Moss-Horwitz — a former DP staffer — said the Penn YDSA will continue to strengthen its education sector through theoretical reading groups. YSDA is considering endorsing Philadelphia’s mayoral and city council elections and will eventually begin campaigning and phone banking for endorsed candidates.
The Penn YDSA — formerly operating as the Penn Justice Dems — also continues a left-wing initiative at Penn that started last semester. As Moss-Horwitz said, the initiative is a weekly newsletter that provides insight into what Philadelphia left-wing organizations and Penn advocacy groups are doing.
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Nicole Giegerich, a sophomore and Penn Democrat’s communications director, told DP she was excited about the organization’s new board and future work.
“After a tough semester in the midterms, we want to keep the momentum going, especially in the mayoral race,” Giegerich said.
At the same time, Giegerich said the organization is focused on keeping the community involved in politics.
“One of our priorities is to ensure that University of Pennsylvania students have ample opportunity to hear and campaign for all mayoral candidates,” said Giegerich, noting that the organization wants students to become mayors. It added that it may edit a video to compare the candidates’ political platforms.
Last semester, Penn Demmes co-hosted “Darty for Democracy” in Clark Park, where recently inaugurated Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke to students during his gubernatorial campaign.
After a “competitive” internal election, Giegerich said the new board, made up of three returning members and six new members, was “made up of really great people who are unique and excited about their work.” there is,” he said.
