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We The People

November 05, 2008

While no one can know for sure beforehand, many believe that we are at a pivotal point in our nation’s history. Rollins students have felt this and have been actively following the election. Over the summer, a number of students came together to create We Tackle the Future Rollins, affectionately known as WTF Rollins. WTF Rollins is dedicated to educating the Rollins community about the issues and encouraging involvement in the political process. The Rollins Democrats and College Republicans have worked for months registering voters on campus.

The Rollins Democrats have also been closely following the Florida campaign, arranging for students to attend rallies with both Bill and Hillary Clinton as well as Barack Obama. Both the Rollins Democrats and the College Republicans recently teamed up with the Philosophy Club and the Debate Team to put on a student debate. Yoni Binstock, president of the Rollins Democrats, approached me about a month ago to see if I was interested in participating. I agreed and so began meeting with the debate group once a week.

The debate would be based off of Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s political positions. There would be an opening speaker and a rebuttal for each candidate on energy and the environment, the economy and foreign policy. This past Wednesday night, 200 students and professors came to get informed about the positions of the candidates.

Being amateur debaters, we had some difficulties with the process, but overall the whole production went off very well. The audience cheered and laughed and many stayed for a half hour after the debate for a question and answer session. It made me proud to know that so many of my friends cared about the direction of our country.

On Election Day, vans were chartered to ferry students to and from the local voting location. “I voted” stickers were common attire all over campus. Everyone had an opinion and everyone wanted to make their voices heard. For election night, WTF Rollins put on a wildly popular After-Poll Party on our campus green, Mills Lawn. Many people were drawn by the band as well as the American-themed food, hamburgers, hot dogs, and apple pies. They stayed, however, for the patriotic games and to watch the election results come rolling in. Throughout the night, over three hundred people attended the party and celebrated their democracy.

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